Take a Drive-Through Tour of Stuttgart, Germany
The cradle will rock.BY KRISTY ALPERT
GETTY IMAGES
From the January 2024 issue of Car and Driver.
The so-called “cradle of the automobile,” Stuttgart, Germany, is Deutschland’s Motor City. It has multiple auto museums, a decommissioned Formula 1 street course among its public roads, and multiple indoor go-kart tracks. And if the parent of that kid you spun out wants to “have a word,” you can rest easy knowing unrestricted portions of the autobahn are just outside the city. Speedily cowering away from fisticuffs has never been easier.
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Up to Speed
Dream of lapping the Nürburgring? Then you’ll have to drive more than three hours north to Nürburg. Stuttgart, however, still has ways for you to satisfy your need for speed courtesy of multiple indoor go-kart tracks. You’ll need a racing license (earned in one lap) to operate the fastest karts at places such as F1 Motodrom and Kart-o-Mania, though.
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Fill ‘er Up
Germans may not be fans of snacking in cars, but they seem perfectly fine with eating near cars. Need proof? Make a reservation at the Porsche Museum’s in-house restaurant Christophorus. The Michelin Guide calls its U.S. prime beef the “highlight” of the menu.
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Drive in Solitude
Take in racing history by driving the roads that made up the Solitudering, a defunct racetrack. The road course traces its roots to 1903, when it served as a venue for motorcycle racing. In 1922, cars first raced on the circuit’s narrow roads. Solitudering even hosted a handful of F1 races over the years. International racing at the circuit, however, came to an end in 1965. Enter from the Leonberg junction off the A8 Autobahn, then follow L1187 to L1189 to L1188.
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Delivery Service
If you’re shopping for a new Porsche, we highly recommend picking it up via the brand’s European Delivery program. The $1500 option includes 16 days of insurance coverage. Resulting heroics just might make their way to social media feeds under titles such as “Lost Tourist in Brand-New Porsche Gets Confused by, and Crashes into, Automated Bollard” or “American Struggles with Metric System While Refueling Expensive Sports Car.”
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Channel History
The Mercedes-Benz Museum highlights the company’s triumphs starting with Carl Benz’s 1886 Patent Motorwagen. Though the museum acknowledges the brand’s problematic past, it largely avoids the more controversial history. Before heading to the Porsche Museum, stop at the Sign of Remembrance. The memorial honors the nearly 3000 Holocaust victims forcibly deported from Stuttgart’s north train station between 1941 and 1944.
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The Car: 2024 Porsche 911 Carrera
You’re in Porsche and Mercedes land, so select your car appropriately. (Pro tip: There are brand-specific preferential parking places in various lots around Stuttgart.) As important as Mercedes is to the region, there’s no denying that Porsche’s rear-engine sports car is as synonymous with Stuttgart as spätzle. Plus, the Porsche Drive rental program makes snagging a 911 for a few days simpler than saying Doppelkupplungsgetriebe five times fast.