The Most Incredible of Car Tours — 25 Porsche GT Cars Drive the Alps!

Written by: Paul Pearce

Arriving at Geneva Airport with nothing more than a small backpack for a one-week holiday felt strange but exciting. Of course in reality everything required for the epic trip that lay ahead was transported in our cars. A short taxi ride from the airport to the French side where we would meet four car transporter lorries painted in a stunning shade of Aston Martin Racing Green would mark the beginning of our journey — ironically, the exact same shade of green as my 992 GT3.

Lake Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region of France, is fed by mountain springs giving it crystal clear water. At its north end, Annecy has a medieval old town with canals and bridges. We stayed in a small village on the opposite side of the lake, visiting the main town of Annecy on the evening we arrived for a local meal and to sample the incredible gelato.

On our second day, a few of us decided to hire a boat which we took out onto the lake and gave wakeboarding our best attempts. By the end of the day, we were all hopeful that our skills behind the wheel of a car would exceed our skills clinging to the back of a boat. The viewpoint from the boat looking back to the shoreline gave another great benefit. Riad in particular took the opportunity to get a much better view of two mountains and the valley that separated them, falling head over heels in love with the view. A few of us even swam to shore to a usually inaccessible remote point where we could climb the cliff face and jump into the lake.

Wednesday morning would see us up at 6:45 am before heading straight down to the lake for an early morning swim. Over 15 members joined us for the most exhilarating and refreshing way to wake yourself up in the morning. A quick shower and off to breakfast before loading our cars with luggage, checking out of the hotel, firing up our route map provided by Jonty, and turning on our radios. With seven very talented drivers behind me, we departed our hotel and headed straight up to the Alpine mountains.

Lake Annecy sits on the doorstep of the Alps, and day one would see us drive deep into the heart of them, stopping for coffee in a ski village before heading on to a stunningly picturesque setting where we lined up the cars along a dam for one of Riad’s artistic shots with the incredible backdrop of the lake, then parking up for a well-earned lunch. The afternoon saw us head deeper into the mountains before crossing the border into Italy where we would descend the famous and incredible Petit San Bernardino pass.

Our accommodation for tonight would be a stunning five-star ski hotel with a great spa. A hotel that usually only opens in the ski season, but Supercar Driver had skilfully arranged with the management to open only for us. The hotel sits in the Aosta Valley surrounded by beautiful mountains, most notably Mont Blanc which was visible just to the north.

A number of us, led by Jonty, took the opportunity to take another early evening venture up the Petit San Bernardino before descending once again, then heading past the hotel to the tunnel where the famous opening scene of The Italian Job was recorded — a truly iconic place for us all to see.

We returned to the hotel, got ourselves spruced up, and headed for a three-course fine dining meal for dinner, remembering to alter our dialogue from Merci to Grazie. Day one of driving was complete, and it was incredible.

Thursday morning would see an early start, but the scene outside the window was bleak. The rain had set in, and the sky was dark. We would not be put off, however, and once we had all finished a lovely buffet breakfast and a hot cup of coffee, we ventured back out, with headlights on and windscreen wipers on a more than adequate setting.

Those of us who had opted for the Pirelli Trofeo R tyres needed to be in tune with the cars as we could feel every movement through the seat as we meandered through the standing water that crossed the roads. We once again made our way over the Petit San Bernardino and back into France before heading down the other side along some more mainstream roads.

As we completed a dual carriageway, we would be greeted by a town with an amusing name that sat at the foot of the Col De La Madeleine, and coffee would await us at the summit. The inclement weather had, by now, subsided and although the surface was still damp, it was quiet as the weather had deterred any cyclists from joining us. We climbed the pass, through some incredible hairpins and beautiful isolated villages before heading to the top. We had hoped for some more picturesque views and a chance for the media team to grab some more great stills and videos, but another cloud would spoil our fun.

After a brief coffee break, we headed back down the opposite side through an ever-meandering course of beautiful twisty roads with not a soul nor a village in sight for mile after mile. We came across a herd of sheep being led up a mountain pass by two sheepdogs, then we continued on for lunch at a restaurant which sat in the heart of a village that was overlooked by another huge dam. A local dish of chicken stew was on the menu, with a crème caramel for dessert. Bowls were licked clean before we spent some time outside on what had turned into a sunny afternoon, discussing the passes and the challenging conditions with the other two groups.

We headed off after lunch for our next destination, another ski resort, but this time with an elevation of almost two thousand meters above sea level. Our previous overnight destinations had seen us descend mountain passes for our evening accommodation, but our night in Montgenèvre would be somewhat different.

We ascended, parked our cars, and headed to the bar for a very well-earned pint. Some members took the opportunity to wash their cars in the underground wash bay of the hotel, whilst others felt that soaking in the view whilst rehydrating on a pint of Leffe was a far more important way to spend the late afternoon.

After the previous night’s fine dining meal and the knowledge of the class of hotel that lay ahead of us, food at the hotel was a much-welcomed simple burger, with some chips that were utterly divine. I shared my table with Riad and Adam, which turned out to be a huge mistake as they both ate quickly and enjoyed my chips almost as much as I did.

After a brilliant night’s sleep in a very comfy bed, we were up and off again, leaving the hotel early on day three as we had a very full day of driving ahead. The hotel kindly opened for breakfast a little earlier than usual to accommodate our punctual start, and away we went.

Today’s journey would include some of the most renowned passes in the world. The Col de la Bonette is a teardrop loop around the mountain summit and is the highest paved road in Europe. It’s a wonderful highlight of this tour and an utterly incredible sight to behold. We stopped at the summit for a few photos, with surroundings akin to being on Mars and a landscape like nothing you’ve seen before. With an elevation of over 2,800 metres, it was both the altitude and the stunning beautiful views that would take your breath away.

Our descent down the opposite side saw us head for lunch at a lovely Italian restaurant. This wouldn’t be the first time that Supercar Driver had frequented this restaurant. The staff were overjoyed to see us, and they recognised a number of faces from previous years’ visits. Lunch was a very tasty pasta Bolognese, and we spent some time at the comfortable setting talking amongst other groups about the passes we had already covered, as well as the final leg of the journey that lay ahead.

As we left lunch, we headed towards the world-renowned and highly anticipated Red Rock Road. The Gorges de Daluis is an incredible six-kilometre canyon road forged by the river Var, featuring seventeen incredible unlit tunnels and the iconic Pont de la Mariee quartzite bridge. The media team had strategically set off before us so that they could position themselves on the cliff faces in order to take those truly iconic images and videos, and as we exited the pass, our radio channel was awash with messages of sheer amazement from the group.

Our day was nowhere complete as we would head along pass after pass for the remainder of the day, stopping en route for a coffee and some local gelato, but we had just one destination in sight, the true jewel of the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco.

As I arrived at the iconic Fairmont Hotel, I quickly claimed that it was likely the best day of driving I had ever experienced as we parked our cars out of the front of the hotel, right next to the famous Fairmont Hairpin where the likes of Fangio, Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton have raced to glory.

We had two nights at the Fairmont, giving us ample opportunity to explore Monte Carlo, enjoying the entirety of the F1 circuit, enjoying some of the most incredible culinary delights the world has to offer, visiting the casino, and relaxing on the roof terrace of the hotel, Nikki Beach.

On Saturday morning, we would once again be in our cars to drive to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the entirety of the city, before heading to the car transporters to have our cars shipped home. Saturday afternoon saw the fitness fanatics among us sharing a gym session with Robbie Williams, whilst others shared the rooftop pool with Simply Red lead singer, Mick Hucknall, and the evening would draw to a close the most incredible of car tours.

We had exclusive use of Nikki Beach for our evening meal where speeches were delivered, awards were handed out, and we would all be left in awe as OneZero7even Media unveiled their jaw-dropping five-minute video of our tour. The wine flowed, the food was delicious, and the opinion of what we had done over the previous five days was unanimous. It was utterly incredible.

After late check-outs were arranged the following day, some took taxis, and others enjoyed helicopter rides to Nice airport for our final journey home. As I sit here in the airport lounge, it leaves me asking only one question — how lucky are we?

Be sure to check out the video of the tour's best moments below.