Up above the clouds

Although it’s just 48 kilometres in total length, the world-famous Grossglockner High Alpine Road quite rightly deserves its place as one of the world’s great driving roads. Yes, the views from Austria’s highest mountain are impressive and yes, naturalists will marvel at the fact that it is the only Alpine road in Austria to cross four distinct vegetation levels. But it is the 36 carefully crafted and considered switchback turns on that magic ribbon of black that will live long in the memory. This is just one of the highlights of the Audi Alps Tour 2024, an immersive five day driving tour through Austria and into Italy, taking in breathtaking roads against backdrops that seem too perfect to be real. There are only nine vehicles in the group, but just as these are are not ‘just’ roads, these are not just any vehicles. Three Audi R8 V10 Spyder’s, three RS e-tron GTs and three RS 6 Avants – the perfect vehicles to take full advantage of this spectacular part of the world, the Audi guests cycling through the cars over the course of the trip to experience these roads and this part of the world from the unique perspective of each of Audi Sport’s performance specialists. 

From the open-top V10 touring in the R8 Spyder, the first-ever all-electric RS model in the RS e-tron GT and the mighty twin-turbo V8 soundtrack of the RS 6 Avant, these cars are perfectly at home in this environment, from the tight and testing mountain roads, to the fast, flowing autobahn and everything in between.

This is not a race, but rather a lifestyle-oriented drive program in which these superb cars play a pivotal role. It is also one of the last times participants will get to drive the R8 Spyder, the V10 supercar having now ceased production, ending an era for Audi Sport.

But for now, three examples of this all-conquering open-top supercar sit ready to devour the sorts of roads they were designed for.

Participants come from all over Australia and all backgrounds. Some have attended multiple Audi driving experience events in the past and are now exposing their partners to a driving holiday with a difference. Others like the idea of a trip that while organised, allows them to travel at their own pace, stopping when a photo opportunity presents itself, but meeting up with the rest of the group at the lunch stops and overnight accommodation to share their daily discoveries.

The tour is led by Audi Australia’s Chief Driving Instructor and Motorsport ambassador, Steve Pizzati, a man well aquatinted both with the Audi product and this part of the world, having led countless groups on similar drive programs throughout the region. Those who have taken part in one of the brand’s outstanding Audi driving experiences (ADE) in Australia or even on the ice in Austria will know Steve’s unique style well. But having taken part in an ADE program is not a prerequisite for this particular trip, in fact a special half day driver training session in Audi R8s forms part of this particular trip.

But proceedings get underway with a visit to Audi’s HQ in Ingolstadt – this sprawling facility just an hour north of Munich dominates the historic town of Ingolstadt and provides a fascinating insight into the world of Audi, both past and present. The famous Audi museum mobile is of course a highlight and provides a fascinating insight into the brand’s long and storied history. So too the rich motorsport heritage at the nearby Audi Sport facility at Neuburg, where the participants also take part in the aforementioned R8 driver training ahead of their trip into the mountains the following day.

The next day the tour begins in earnest, leaving Munich behind as the participants head towards Oberaudorf via Lake Schliersee on a day that will see them drive the Ziller Valley and Gerlos Pass to Kaprun for their first night in Austria. Along the way they’ll stop for lunch and take in the ever-changing scenery at their leisure, before overnighting at the gorgeous Tauren Spa Resort in the Austrian Alps. This resort with the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier as its backdrop will become the home base from which to explore for the next two days, as the Audi participants take in the aforementioned Grossglockner High Alpine Road and Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Hohe to Lienz the next day. This is a drive that never fails to excite, no matter how many times you may have done it in the past. Weather can change from a stunning clear day, to dark moody skies with cloud dropping down to make you feel as though you are driving on top of the world.

A relaxing lunch at the Parkhotel on the shores of Tristachersee, one of the most picturesque and popular lakes in the region, before heading back to Kaprun and the Hotel Tauren Spa, tackling the Grossglockner High Alpine road from the opposite direction.

Italy’s own brand of high alpine grandeur beckons the next day, as the tour heads to the Dolomites. Driving up over the Stallar Sattel, or Staller Saddle, which forms part of the border between Austria and Italy. Through Bruneck, the largest town in the Puster Valley in South Tyrol and on into Selva di Val Gardena in the heart of the Dolomites. Another inspiring drive and another destination that regularly leaves travellers struggling to find superlatives that do the area justice.

The perfect location for another relaxed lunch for the rest of the touring party, discussing the morning’s drive and sights seen, photographed and locked in the memory along the way.

The afternoon will see the group head off across the Val Gardena and the Brenner Pass to Telfs-Buchen where the night will once again be spent in alpine splendour, this time at the Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol.

Sitting 1300 metres above sea level, the Interalpen is a vast luxurious hotel surrounded by lush forests and not far from the picturesque town of Seefeld, home of Audi’s famous winter campus and its ice driving experience. 

This is a fitting venue for the last night of the mountain odyssey and for everyone to share their experiences over the last few days before the final day’s driving.

More inspired roads await on the final day, with a run through the Kuhtai Sattel offering up another stunning piece of twisting blacktop to put the RS cars through their paces. On to Gmünd, leaving the higher Austrian regions in the rearview mirrors and time for one final lunch stop on one final picturesque locale at Lake Tegernsee. Here at the Käfer Gut Kaltenbrunn, with its spectacular views across the lake, the members of this year’s Audi Alpine Tour have a final chance to reflect on the week that was and perhaps make plans for their next trip to this part of the world. An easy two hour drive through the foothills remains to the final destination at Munich airport and flights home or onward to other destinations.

Certainly a trip like this is the stuff of motoring dreams, but being a motoring tragic is not essential. The appeal of driving these top-flight vehicles through this part of the world speaks for itself, but it is the organisation, accommodation and customary Audi attention to detail that sets the Alpine tour apart. With Steve Pizzati’s insights on the region, the roads, the cars and the culture, it is as much a lifestyle adventure as it is a purely automotive experience. With the roads, lunch locations and overnight accommodation scouted and arranged, it leaves you free to sit back and enjoy the drive, the scenery and the whole experience. Each participant takes something different away from the experience. And while for some it will be the views, or spotting a long-horned Ibex halfway up Grossglockner – but it’s tough to top those 36 bends as they take you right up into the clouds.

For more information on other ADE programs, keep an eye on the Audi driving experience official website.