Motor classic reader tour Piedmont, Liguria and Tuscany

A uf the Traces of Fausto Coppi

The route is tough and quickly turns out to be demanding. The path winds like a garland between Acqui Terme and Rapallo across the Apennines, crossing several smaller passes, the names of which are not always familiar even to those who know Italy. For example the 772 meter high Passo del Bocchetta, where next to the narrow road carved into the rock there is a monument to the legendary racing cyclist Fausto Coppi (1919-1960), who is revered like an idol in Italy.

Later, when the mountains abruptly end on the Ligurian coast, the path leads steeply down to the azure blue sea in countless curves and bends. The descent only takes a few minutes, but it is a transition into another world. In the rearview mirror the loneliness of the mountains stretches out in front of us suddenly the glamorous realm of the jet set, which has made the nearby, former fishing village of Portofino one of its summer compulsory stops. Now, in the middle of October, there is little hustle and bustle, this unreally beautiful stretch of coast with the magnificent villas and the exotic Mediterranean vegetation can be enjoyed to the full.

Rainer Klink, the thoroughbred oldtimer fan with a nose for route selection

Already the first day of the meanwhile second Motor Klassik readers' tour leaves on In the evening none of the teams who traveled to the country had any doubts: This road book can only come from someone whose passion is driving. And who knows how to combine travel and enjoyment in equal measure. Rainer Klink is the name of the man with a detective flair for routes that are sometimes off the tourist mainstream and are sometimes difficult to find even on good maps.

Klink, Ur-Swabian by birth and head of the Tübingen pit stop museum out of passion, has been organizing guided classic tours through half of Europe for 16 years and apparently knows what is important. 'But this time he really outdid himself in the choice of the route', praised Eberhard Persicke from Remseck in Swabia, who traveled with his wife Ingrid in a Mercedes-Benz 280 SL.

The starting point of the trip is strategically well chosen with the fashionable Acqui Terme thermal baths in Piedmont. ThereThe day before the starting shot the participants gradually roll in, a total of 22 cars, whose owners look forward to six exciting (driving) days through Piedmont, Liguria and Tuscany. Almost everyone insisted on crossing the Alps on their own.

I take the liberty: No fixed departure times

Heinz-Bruno Hecker from Warstein in North Rhine-Westphalia in a Mercedes-Benz 300 , Built in 1953, for example. Hecker has owned this car for 38 years and at the time, as a 19-year-old mechanic, extensively restored it: 'It's always a great pleasure for me to be on the road, even if we are among the slower road users in the mountains.' The oldest car in the field is forgiven, especially since the Motor Klassik reader trips are neither about speed nor are there any tests.

All participants set out at will, drive according to the road book in small groups or sometimes alone. Everyone as he can and wants. Horst Armbruster in his Porsche 911, Karl-Heinz Meub in the Ferrari 308 GTS and the VW Karmann Ghia Cabriolet driver Wolfgang Siebenson are among those who take things a little faster from the start.

In formation flight, the colorful trio darts together for a long time down to Tuscany, so that some Italians would like to give applause for joy. At the sight of the Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider by Volker Wiese or the Ferrari GTE 250 by Heinz-Günther Fetzer, there is no stopping them anyway. Others naturally take the matter a bit more comfortably. Carl Wallner and Marcus Reil in their super-fine Rolls-Royce Corniche.

Great demand: continued in 2010

Or Kurt and Eva Marti in an eye-catching Buick Skylark convertible that everyone is amazed at lets this imposing car maneuver through the narrow streets of Italy at all. At the latest at the agreed meeting points, everyone finally comes together again, to look, to eat and to chat. Tour guide Rainer Klink and his wife Ute invite you to a picnic by the sea twice, take the group through the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera, through beautiful Lucca and on the last day through Pisa.

The Klinks have also provided the road book with other highlights that you would otherwise probably pass by - for example a coffee break in Riparbella, a traditional Italian town, a visit to a junkyard with automotive treasures or a wine tasting in Montecarlo /Tuscany. The best: The weather is cooperative, spoiled with summer temperatures, while Germany is recording the first onset of winter. So the recipe for the reader trips has met with a great response. It will definitely continue in 2010.