Elan Alpine Raid

[trw99]

I am picking up on bast0n's terrific photo of his S3 atop a col in the Alps, evocative of the open road, alpine bends, warm sun, stunning scenery, damp tarmac, good company, valley roads, excellent food and a lazy itinerary.

What I would be interested to know is, if we were to organise an Elan Alpine Raid, how many of us would be interested? This is just in principle, I am not proposing any dates, routes or logistics at this stage. I merely want to gauge views on whether it is a feasible project to start work on.

Please be open and frank!

Tim

[jimj]

Yes, I might be. We did the Rallye des Alpes a few years ago which started in Geneva, which is not very convenient, but the route took us through Val d`Isere over the col and loads of other skiing places, most tiny-never-heard-of places but delightful. I might have got the route book somewhere which we could partly plagiarise.
Jim

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

123

[jimj]

I`ve been thinking and this year`s Euroclassic, which we didn`t go on, http://www.msaclassics.co.uk/euroclassic/route.php, went to Verona along the way. A delightful place and not far from Brescia. The 17th May 2012 is the start of the Mille Miglia and if you haven`t been it`s a must.
Jim

[JJDraper]

Alps, great fun, but its not all sunshine! Second pic is later the same day...

A few thoughts on a convoy:

Those roads can be really scary! More so if you feel pressure to go faster than your comfort zone.
Summer time accommodation in Austria is pretty cheap (its off season for them), and there are usually plenty of 'Zimmer Frei' if you don't book ahead.
Switzerland is ****ing expensive and Italy is Hot!
Don't expect Stelvio to be a clear run (Italian side), unless you make it early morning. The traffic on the way up is depressing. The Swiss side is much clearer, but slightly less dramatic.
The long gradients make your engine really hot - good fresh oil required.
Make sure there's plenty of meat on the front brake pads, look at the dust on my front wheels - clean that morning
The drive home to GB is an awfully long way when all you have to look forward to is the office..
My petrol bill last year was around ?520, road toll/taxes another ?100.

Best holiday ever

Jeremy

[rmd24]

I'd certainly be on for that. I did the Stelvio last September (not in the Elan) on the way home from Venice. It is a bit of a lottery in terms of weather and traffic but it is an experience not to be missed . About three years ago in my Elise days I did an weekend event with Club Lotus France which took in many of the passes in the Haute Savoie and was a really great weekend. I seem to remember that it took place in May when the roads were relatively quiet but even then on the Sunday there were loads of guys in brightly coloured Lycra giving themselves heart attacks pedalling uphill.

Jeremy raises the issue of being pressured into driving faster than is comfortable. In my experience of the above CLF event, after an hour or so the cars divided into two or three groups with people joining the group they felt most comfortable with and I was certainly not aware of any undue pressure. On the empty roads the fast group was bl**dy fast, but at no time did it become ridiculous.

All good fun!

Roger.

[pereirac]

Why not drive over to the British Classic car meet in Morges the first Saturday in October, it's almost the Alps as you drive over the Jura from France into Switzerland... The weather across the mountains varies between bright warm sunshine and snow so you never know what you might get..

[Vanden Perre]

Hi Tim,
See my proposal from 2 years ago.
free-parking-f19/lotuselan-net-the-alps-2010-t19373.html
I did not receive much answers
I would be interested but I it has to be in a small group (as mentionned in my proposal: max 6 cars)
Cheers.
Olivier.

[GreekS1]

Im also very interested!
Ive done a couple of Alp tours in my Elise S1 and last year did the Euroclassic with Jim in my Elan.
I think Stelvio would be fine as long as its not August and not a weekend.
I also have the routebook from one of our Elise outings which I can contribute!
It includes most of the best passes in Switzerland - Italy and Austia. That was a great trip! And it also included great small out of season (i.e. cheap) hotels.

Let me know...

Vassilis

PS Here's a couple of pics, one with the Elan the other with the Elise...

[69S4]

Having been down to the Alps in my Elan in Sept / Oct for the last two years I know just how much fun those high passes can be, but it is a long drive to get there and if you get the weather wrong it can be horrible. With less pressure though (I was going for "work" - we have a flat there that needs to be sorted out for ski season rentals) it could be a great holiday and as we're likely to be looking for a relatively cheap time next year I could be interested - depending on where, when, what the kids are doing etc.

I have to go down there again sometime over the next month and I'm trying to decide between:



(Just on the outskirts of the Alps, near Grenoble airport)


and

[rmd24]

No cars but LOOK AT THOSE ROADS!!

[gherlt]

I lived 4 years in Switzerland, and I can only agree with the phrase "weather can be horrible".
Please take look at the following images, this was in June !

[twincamman]

wow ---what a pity we are so far away from all that beauty and thrilling driving and over ere in the Americas - --although Im sure many over there are thrilled at that prospect -- --ed

[alaric]

Count me in. Just need to get the car on the road. Once it is, that's where I'll be headed - with a full boot of tools of course.

Sean.

[alexblack13]

Hi Guys...

Tim.... I will pm you soon regarding, but basically Carol & I could be interested in doing something like an Alpine trip.

RMD's shot of the Stelvio (?) brings back memories..... OH yes!! Z4, Hood down.. Simply fantastic. That particular pass is often closed until mid June....

Just need an idea as to where to base (or not), route down? stops? how long? etc..... I have a fair experience of Alpine trips with the Pan Clan (Honda ST owners Club) and there are some smashing places to visit.... Fishing for ideas is good, but you will find everyone has Ideas as to what where and when. Better plan is to have a small team to decide on details and set it up. Anyone wishing to go then puts their name down. Its a lot of work to plan properly.

PM you later.

Alex....