Just returned from a fantastic 3000 mile bash through Europe. Fell in love with the car all over again: it was fantastic and drew a crowd wherever we went. On the Italian Autostrada we were constantly tailgated but they were all left in the dust, save for one Mustang just outside Milan. Dunn'o what was under the hood but we played leapfrog for about 5 miles at up to 130 mph. He couldn't lose me and I couldn't lose him so we were evenly matched. The rest were just left in a noisy cloud of exhaust fumes. Wonderful to be able to use the speed and see the bonnet lift when I floored it at 100 mph.

The video clip is a high speed run up the Sustenpass in Switzerland, taken from a mobile phone clipped to the mirror. The Top Gear TV program fans would reckon the Stelvio pass is better but, whilst it is visually more stunning, it’s just a series of short straights separated by hairpins. The Sustenpass is a fast flowing run with excellent visibility and some real high speed sections. We had to slow a bit for the roadworks in the last third but after that it was full chat to the top where I had to stop before my son, Barry lost his lunch! You can just about hear him before I cut the camera.
YouTube - SRT6 Sustenpass



My son, Barry, recovering somewhat after almost losing his lunch on the run up the pass.



The Sustenpass seen from the top. What a road!



Hmmmm. Gott'a get me one of those because it's a lot faster up the Sustenpass than my Scooby.



Pride of place was the SRT6 as Bride’s Limousine for my daughter’s wedding in Verbania, on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Italy. I reckon that’s gott’a be a first for a SRT6!

Cheers

Andy G

 

that was a fantastic run!! i think i would have lost my lunch when you passed that car on a blind curve!!! 4:50 mark. and i dont think i have what it takes to run fast on the outside lane like you did. to far down to the bottom!! how fast were you running?

 

Andy, that was a GREAT video.
Kinda reminds me of the Dragon with less trees, long straights & a heck of a lot more mountain!
Good to see that the SRT represents well with our Euro. friends !

BTW, your daughter is a doll. Hope things went well at the wedding!!

 

That looks like fun! Thanks for sharing.

 

Awsome video. The "boys" need to be on the large size to make that run at a good pace!!!!

 

We were running an average of 70 on all but the hairpins. I saw the needle high as 95 on some of the short straights. We took the East to West run because the visibility is good and you can see what's coming long way off. Only 'iffy' moment was at the 5:22 mark when I was thrown off line by a huge dip in the road. Solid rock walls on one side and a 500 foot drop on the other with very flimsy barriers. Sort'a sharpens the mind but the car was well planted. My son drives a WRXI Scooby and he reckons I would have lost him.

Cheers

Andy G

 

Wow. Yesterday, as I was driving from western MI to Stoney Creek ON (a little 360 mile jaunt), I was daydreaming about winning the lottery, buying an SRT6 vert, and shipping it to Europe for a summer of driving. I gotta buy more lottery tickets.

PS - Wedding limo? Where do you stuff the bride -- I'm almost afraid to ask.

 

In the passenger seat, of course It was a small private wedding in a Registry Office (not sure of the US equivalent) So there were only nine of us in three cars. Just seemed like the ony way to do it was for the Bride to travel in style with her dad. We had to take a short car-ferry journey across the lake to get to the wedding venue and that sure drew an appreciative crowd from the other ferry passengers.

Andy G

 

I love the Carlsberg shirt your son is wearing...

I love Carlsberg...

great run by the way....so good.

 

Andy G, great video and pics. Thanks for sharing!

 

Outstanding video - quite an exhilarating experience even just watching it! Not many roads like that here in Oklahoma. The views were unbelievable, but I guess you couldn't have been paying too much attention to anything but the road! I can't imagine why the guy on the bike would take his life in his hands and ride that road, though...

 

Thanks for the video and pics... what an amazing area.

Although I'm sure the visibility is better in person than on video, I cringed at some of the lines motorcycle riders were taking and the seemingly blind corners with traffic.

You have a bit of fortitude to run it at a decent clip for that amount of time considering the usage - I think I would have tired.

 

The west to east run (oppsoite to the direction I took) doesn't have as clear sight lines on the descent (my ascent). Yes there was one rider just at the start of the clip who was pretty close to the line.

We were lucky to make the climb when trafiic was very light and only met a few cars on the ascent. It's the cyclists who are the most dangerous as there's no wriggle room. Again, good sight lines on most of the east to west ascent help, but there are still blind corners that need treated with respect.

Andy G

 

Andy, great video.. The barriers were a bit flimsy. It didn't sound like you
using autostick, were you?? The ascent (in my opinion) is an easier drive to accelerate out of the turns, and use natural up hill to help slow into curve. That was incredible. Thanks for sharing. BTW, I love the color.

 

I used the manual downshift on some of the tight hairpins but otherwise let the auto take charge. The brakes were a worry as we had just descended 2300 feet from the Gothard pass at a similar sort of speed. So, yes the uphill retardation helped. You can probably hear me talk about that just after the left hander at about 5:22 where we got a wee bit off line.

Have to say I wasn't pushing the car to the limit: it was just so composed, amazing. Other than that one left hander with the big bump in the middle, we were pretty much on the correct side of the white line the entire way up.

I've never felt the SRT6 was what I would call 'chuckable', probably because it's automatic but that run forced me to re-think. What a fantastic car!

Andy G

 

Not to be an A-hole about your "great run" but you DO realize the DANGER that you put both you and YOUR SON in while doing that antic, don't you? There was absolutely no margin for error on that road, and there was a ravine on one side, and rocks/hills on the other. One unexpected patch of rocks/cinders, or a motorcycle too far to the left on the opposing side would have spoiled your day.... and all your days.....It was great fun I'm sure, but take the racing to a closed track where you can haul ash(-h,+s) and spin out without killing / maiming motorcycle riders, your passengers, yourself, pedestrians.... That's what I do with my SRT6 and STR4.... and it's great fun to push the limits of both cars.

 

i am jealous, i bet you guys had a blast driving across Europe.

thanks for the photos/video

 

Andy, great video, I'm glad you enjoyed the Swiss mountains!
The Susten is pretty good to drive, because on most of the track you are able to see the street for a long way.
Makes a lot of fun, I like to "hunt" motorbikes. They don't understand why a car can hold their speed (or even overtake them)

Please, whatch on your speed! Swiss police is very strict on speed limits, so above 100 km/h (62mph) it gets really expensive and even you as guests are risking your driver licence for Switzerland (+ a big check).
Speed limiter at 95 does the work.

Best wishes from Switzerland,

Hans

P.s.: Ther is a lot of rubber from my tires up there ....

 

I think you are in a minority of one here, cudaman.

First off the measured average I did on this section was 56 MPH. Second, the pass from east to west has great visibility, as Hans points out later in the thread. Third, I only crossed the white line once (other than overtaking) and that was on a clearly sighted bend where I had to compensate for a large dip in the road.

Car and driver were well within their limits at all times. For you to suggest that this drive was an 'antic' that deliberately put my son's life in danger is melodramatic to say the least, if not downright offensive.

Yes, 'if' there had have been rocks or cinders (?) on the road, and 'if' there had have been a motorcycle too far left etc. etc. If my grandma' had have had ********* she would have been my grandpa'.

I'm not condoning foolish or irresponsible driving on public roads. I repeat, car and driver were well within limits and the average was 56MPH. Yes I hit 95 in one short burst but it's a SRT6 for goodness sake. It goes from 0-100-0 in 15 seconds. Yes I did achieve 70-75 on the long flowing stretches but soild walls on one side and big drops on the other hold less potential danger than something crossing the median on a freeway.

BTW I'm 54 years old with an unblemished driving licence and the last motoring accident I had, was when I was 17. Experience still counts for something in this world.

Andy G

 

Hi Hans

Yes it was a great drive. Also did the Gothard and the Simplon on the same day. Truly fantastic.

Yes the Swiss police are very strict, especially on the major roads and motorways. I always obey the limits on these roads.

Have to say the Swiss motorway network is my least favourite in Europe, and I've driven in just about every EU country. Still, I suppose if other countries had so many tunnels and bridges they would have to cut costs soemwhere as well.

The 30 Euros for the little sticker on the windscreen was worth it for the Sustenpass alone.

Stay safe

Andy G