Dream drives

It takes a little over three seconds for the Audi R8 Spyder V10 performance quattro to accelerate from zero to 100km/h. That’s quick by any measure, but it’s not just the breathtaking acceleration that leaves an impression. Just as important is the visceral howl of perhaps the most celebrated naturally-aspirated V10 powerplant ever made sitting right behind you, amplified even further by having the roof down. Throw in a seemingly never-ending succession of switchbacks in the Italian Alps and some long alpine tunnels for good measure, and you’ll find yourself smiling so hard your face will hurt.

On the Audi Alps tour, it’s just another day in paradise. This is a trip that combines exotic locations with equally exotic automotive machinery, world-class accommodation and local culinary delights in a curated trip that is the stuff of automotive daydreams.

‘Breakfast in Germany, lunch in Austria and dinner in Italy’ – it has a lovely, decadent ring to it but also very much captures the essence of a journey undertaken over a week from Germany through Austria and up into the Italian Alps.

Add a trio of high-performance RS models to the equation along with generous amounts of Audi’s characteristic hospitality and attention to detail and you have a trip that is as breathtaking as the scenery.

This is the first Audi Alps Tour for 2025, an annual event offered by Audi Australia and the Audi driving experience (ADE) that has proved so popular over the past few years that a second trip was added this year for the first time. Exact itineraries may vary each trip, but the essence of the tour remains the same, attracting participants from all over the country to join Audi Australia’s Chief Driving Instructor and motorsport ambassador, Steve Pizzati, on this European odyssey. 

Over the course of five days, the 18 participant (two to each car) get to sample some of the most spectacular scenery and roads on the planet, driving vehicles that are tailor made for this sort of environment. Rotating through three R8 Spyders, three RS Q8 SUVs and three of the brand’s most powerful series production vehicle ever, the RS e-tron GT performance. 

Three very different vehicles certainly, but all stunningly fast and agile and very much at home in what is essentially their natural habitat. 

This is a trip that while obviously a boon for car enthusiasts, is as much a lifestyle experience. It is not a race or a competition and each day is conducted at your our pace. If regular photo stops or exploring the local towns is more to your taste, then that’s what you do. The pace at which you drive is very much up to you and of course the local speed limits, allowing you to enjoy each drive your way.

Steve Pizzati’s knowledge of the brand and of this part of the world is encyclopaedic and the drive program and itinerary for each Alpine trip has been painstakingly planned by Steve in collaboration with his German counterparts. Participants come from all over the country and while there are no qualifications required or previous experience necessary – other than a current driver’s licence and a sense of adventure – many have enjoyed ADE programs back home, while others have taken part in previous international programs including the Audi ice driving experience. 

On this trip, one couple from Perth were returning for the second year in a row, having enjoyed the program in the Austrian Alps so much last year. They had extensive experience of ADE programs both in Australia and in Europe, while another couple, coincidentally also from Perth, had been unaware that these types of trips were even available until they happened upon an article about a previous tour and decided to experience it for themselves. 

The trip kicks off in Munich, where participants arrive at the Charles Hotel right in the heart of the city for a relaxed dinner and a chance to get to know each other. The following morning the party heads north to Audi’s HQ in Ingolstadt – an historic city an hour north of Munich nestled along the banks of the Danube. Here, life very much revolves around the brand and one in three residents either work directly for or in an industry supporting Audi. 

Here, a tour of the factory not only puts into perspective the exacting nature of producing Audi vehicles but the sheer scale of the operation. While a visit to the famous Audi museum mobile is a highlight and provides a fascinating insight into the brand’s long and storied history. 

Just 30 minutes away is the celebrated Audi Sport facility at Neuburg, home of the brand’s motorsport activities and its sprawling test facility with private track. The trophy room here is a veritable Mecca for a car enthusiast, filled as it is with milestones from the brand’s motorsport history. From World Rally Championship domination, to DTM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and most recently, its historic win in the Dakar rally. This is hallowed ground and of course the nerve centre for the Audi Formula 1 team which will enter the World Formula 1 Championship next year.

After lunch overlooking the private race track, the tour takes on a more hands-on dimension, with a half day of driver training in R8 V10s around the very same facility where every Audi Sport performance model and race car have been put through their paces. 

An overnight in Ingolstadt awaits before the start of the trip proper in the morning. Staying at the new Maritim Hotel on the shores of the Danube and right outside the historic walled ‘old city’ of Ingolstadt, it’s a short walk on the ancient cobblestone streets to dinner in a traditional Bavarian pub, where steins of Helles (a traditional regional larger), schnitzel and strudel are the order of the day. 

The following morning the driving starts in earnest, with the cars fuelled and charged and waiting at the Audi Forum at Munich International Airport. A final briefing from Steve and the Audi team, and it’s time to literally head for the hills, using the TourBoss app as guidance for the run through Munich before heading into the Alpine foothills and on through Telfs-Buchen to meet for lunch at the famed Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol.

Those who pay attention to the clear and concise navigation instructions, will have no issue navigating through the busy Munich traffic and up towards Austria. 

Those who get chatting and don’t pay attention, will get to test the ‘got straight to final destination’ function on TourBoss after finding themselves hurtling towards Berlin at a rate of knots. Happily, this function not only works a treat, but found a beautiful unrestricted section of autobahn with practically no traffic, to ensure that there was no hold up making it to lunch on time.

This is alps grandeur at its finest, the hotel with its spectacular mountain backdrop popular year round, but only in the warmer months can this and other alps tours be conducted, when the high passes are open to traffic. From here, the afternoon route climbs as it takes in the Ulten Valley on the way to St Walburg and ultimately the next overnight stay at the Arosea Life Balance Hotel in Val d’Ultimo near Merano. A spectacular climb and equalling spectacular descent are highlights of the afternoon, as Austria disappears in the rearview mirrors without fanfare and the road becomes northern Italy. 

The Arosea Life Balance Hotel is perched on the side of a spectacular forested valley and will be the base of operations for the next two nights, the perfect place from which to explore the surrounding region.

The next day will see the route take in the Gampen Pass which connects the Adige valley in South Tyrol to the Non Valley, rising to just over 1500 metres at its peak. This is truly spectacular country as you climb higher into the mountains, a potential hazard for instagram enthusiasts as they struggle with sensory overload and the desire to catch one breathtaking vista after another.

But quite aside from the impossibly perfect scenery, there is a very different feel to driving in this part of the world. For the most part, your fellow motorists are aware of what’s going on around them, moving over when safe and waving through a faster car. There is a general appreciation of beautiful cars and those out actually enjoying them.

Even driving the most visually glamorous of the trio, the R8 Spyder attracts nothing but appreciative nods and thumbs ups throughout the trip – not always the reaction you attract driving the same car ‘back home’.

On past the Madonna di Campiglio, a popular ski resort in the winter months, now attracting hikers to climb the insanely steep slopes, while motoring enthusiasts of the two and four-wheel variety enjoy the meticulous mountain roads.

Lunch is seemingly a world away from these mountain peaks, the luxurious Lido Palace nestled amidst lush gardens on the shores of glittering Lake Garda, the perfect rest stop and a chance to recharge and discuss the morning’s drive. Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, looks as though it was dreamt up by an overly enthusiastic AI bot, the blue of the water just too blue to be real – despite the fact that it is.

After lunch, a different route returns the travellers to the Ulten Valley and the Arosea Hotel, this time going via Lago di Molveno (or Lake Molveno for those not conversant with Italian), and a late afternoon drive on roads almost devoid of other traffic.

Dinner at the hotel awaits after a swim or a solid workout in the gym (just kidding about the workout) and the final night in Southern Tyrol before taking on the Dolomites and the Gardena Pass the following day.

Along the way there is more ‘pinch yourself’ countryside, from the ridiculously beautiful Lake Carezza, that simply doesn’t look real in photographs, to the famous crags of the Dolomites – itself a UNESCO heritage area.

The view across the valley from lunch at the Chalet Gerard to the imposing sentinels is incredible, in fact there is plenty of time to take in the views on the winding road up the mountain as well, the presence of hundreds of cyclists practising for a coming race (yes, practicing on a 6 percent gradient) making for slow ascent, waiting for clear road ahead before safely overtaking the lycra-clad masses.

The presence of hundreds of sweaty bodies doesn’t detract from this brilliant region, where perfect views compete with perfect roads for the attention. 

The final destination for the day and indeed the last night of the trip is Cortina, soon to be home of the winter Olympics, where the Grand Hotel Savoia Cortina d’Ampezzo awaits.

With the cars pulled up in the hotel’s forecourt, the afternoon is free to explore Cortina’s cobbled streets, before relaxing with a cool drink on the hotel's terrace before dinner. This is arguably the best spot in Cortina from which to watch the sun turn the surrounding peaks pink then orange before plunging them into darkness.

The final day is bitter sweet. But although today will see the end of the trip, there is plenty of driving still to come. Another spirited drive out of Cortina provides a combination of long runs through thickly forested mountains, interspersed with open countryside on the way to the Staller Sattel (Staller Saddle) – a high mountain pass at over 2000 metres that is so narrow in parts that it only allows vehicles in one direction at a time. This necessitates arriving at the start of the tight, twisting mountain road on time or face waiting through another ‘cycle’ while the waiting traffic comes the other way. 

Miss your time and you’ll wait around half an hour for your next chance, so it’s not the end of the world. But there’s nothing like adding a little deadline to the ETA to focus the mind.

Once safely through and on the other side, it’s a straight run to Kitzbühel, home of the downhill skiing championships which are regularly sponsored by Audi, for ‘the last lunch’ and farewells before the final drive back to Munich.

It’s an extraordinary trip that means different things to different people. For some it’s all about the cars and the roads that were clearly designed in heaven, while for others, the country and drop-dead gorgeous scenery steals the show. Part of the beauty of the trip comes from the fact that the itinerary, routes and accommodation have all been scouted in advance and all that’s required each day is to enjoy the drive. 

This is the perfect way to explore the region regardless of whether it is your first trip or you have visited many times before. Of course, no one will believe your photographs haven’t been heavily photoshopped when you get back, but you’ll have the bruises from those ‘pinch yourself moments’ for a long time to come.

Next year, Audi Australia will again offer two trips to Europe to enjoy the stunning surrounds and brilliant driving roads of these spectacular regions. The first trip will run from 10 to 16 June and the second in  September from the 21st to the 27th, again targeting the Italian Alps. Visit the official Audi driving experience website for updates and itineraries.