[karan561]

Last month i was in Milan, Italy for a work trip, fortunately i had an weekend off which helped me film this video where i take the 124 spider Roadster to the Stelvio Pass which is the 3rd Highest Mountain Pass in the European Alps & considered to be one of the best driving roads in the World.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ8FsRDzVvk&t=15s

This video has a lot of behind the wheel action;



Stunning visuals;



& some unadulterated driving scenes;



Some information about the Stelvio Pass;

- The Stelvio Pass is the 3rd highest (2758m) mountain pass in the Alps, but surely the most dramatic pass in Italy.
- In fact Top Gear voted this ' The Best Driving Road ' back in 2008.
- Stelvio pass can be accessed from both Switzerland & Italy. I started from the Italian side of the Pass, its supposedly more scenic, has faster corners giving liberty to actually push the car.
- The road is too narrow to attempt an overtake, but yeah you can easily get around slow cyclists or 2 wheelers.
- Overall i visited the Stelvio Pass on a Sunday (late afternoon/early evening) & got relatively less traffic than what i had read online.
- The Stelvio Pass has about 48 hair pin turns so driving there is like Hard Right, accelerate in 1st to redline shift to 2nd (Wheelspin), accelrate in 3rd gear then brake for a Hard left, accelerate hard again, soon Hard Right & goes on...
- All the turns are marked on the stones like 46,47 & so on to help you know that if you have reached the top or not.
- The car i chose for driving at the Stelvio Pass was the iconic Fiat 124 Spider.

Fiat 124 Spider;

- The 124 spider has a very 1960's style retro styling, but is a very unique as though being an Italian sportscar it has a lot of Japanese engineering (based on the Mazda MX-5).
- Strangely the styling, long bonnet, overhangs etc reminded me of the Dodge Viper.
- 124 Spider is powered by the 1.4 Multi Air Turbo Petrol motor producing aprox 140bhp & 240nm & all the power goes to the Rear wheels (RWD).
- Above specifications only tell half the story as this roadster is light weight (1050kgs aprox) capable of doing the 0-100 km/h sprint in only 7.5 seconds.
- Yes, it was a MANUAL TRANSMISSION
- The M/T box wasn't the most slick shifting (specially downshifts) & while driving aggressively i did happen to grind gears (as seen in the video @ 3:30).
- The engine however peppy did suffer from turbo lag in such an mountain pass & hence my right hand was always busy shifting gears while filming the video.
- Interestingly the 1.4 MultiAir Turbo was not that refined to be honest.
- The low centre of gravity of the 124 aids in the handling is properly spot on & thats exactly what you would want on a mountain road like this.
- The tyres were thin 205's on 17" rims which were inducing oversteer easily as seen in the video. But overall even after breaking traction the rear end continued t behave predictably.
- The roof (fabric) opens/closes easily within seconds but ' Manually '
- Loved the interiors.
- Doing the Stelvio Pass in an retro Italian Roadster was indeed a blissful feeling.
- Overall the Fiat 124 Spider being a lightweight, quick, manual, RWD roadster was indeed a good recipe to have fun at the Stelvio Pass.

[AMG Power]

Great video Karan. This is the enthusiast dream. Nice choice of car too. Guess you did the drive along with a friend in another car for the external shots of the car. Wonder if filming the video reduced from the pleasure of the actual drive but guess it's made up when you get to relive the experience again on screen.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Great video Karan. This is the enthusiast dream. Nice choice of car too.

Thanks AMG Power

Wonder if filming the video reduced from the pleasure of the actual drive but guess it's made up when you get to relive the experience again on screen.

Not at all, in fact i had a night stay at Stelvio Pass itself so i had all the time to film & drive the Stelvio a couple of times ( mentioned in the video @ 5:40 )

[ChiragM]

Superb video!

Driving on the Stelvio Pass is a dream for many petrolheads. If I am right, Alfa Romeo organised the media drive of the Stelvio at the same place.

Stunning views on the way.

Coming to the car, the 124 Spider is one sweet ride and looks way better than the Mazda as well. How would you rate the performance and handling over the MX-5?

I was about to suggest an Abarth 124 Spider for the next trip but looking at the width of the road, I think the regular car is enough to keep you happy.

[raghu.bramha]

Well well well you have just done the exact same thing as i am wishing for. Stelvio pass was adored by the Topgear trio in the past. Italians cam out on top in their test too. Though it is their own home ground i expected Fiat to fair better, but nonetheless they do what do what they best - be mediocre while they can be the best :(

It's an awesome post. Hope you enjoyed. Wish you many more such trips and excitements.

[AlphaKilo]

Fantastic one Karan!!!

I prefer the Großglockener or the Brenner pass over stelvio anyday. This is beautiful no doubts but after my experience there, I prefer to be in Austria or the Bolzano/Turin side of Italy (if that can be called as a part of Italy )

I can agree with most of your points and I have my own memories of this place. Me and my friends went for a road trip to all passes (based on Top gears list of roads) and this was in the last leg as it was supposed to be the best.

Nice videos altogether. Seems like you had a nice weather to accompany you all the way.

Nevertheless, as pointed out by you, the roads are bad and equally are the Italian drivers. They are worse than our guys! Because of one of such intelligent soul who drove blindly into a tunnel (was a cave) ended up blocking our path and we had to reverse out to let him out. (His side of the road had a blind 90° right turn). In the process of reversing, since the tarmac was slippery with fallen rocks, our rear wheel driven sports cabrio (Z4) lost traction and ended up with its right side scrapping the tunnel walls. The walls were made of barren rocks! You can image the rest.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Superb video!

Thanks Chirag !

Stunning views on the way.

Stunning Weather supported such views to be captured on the camera, also perfect for TOP DOWN MOTORING !

Coming to the car, the 124 Spider is one sweet ride and looks way better than the Mazda as well. How would you rate the performance and handling over the MX-5?

I haven't driven the MX-5 so cant say.

Originally Posted by raghu.bramha

It's an awesome post. Hope you enjoyed. Wish you many more such trips and excitements.

Hey Raghu, thanks for the appreciation & the best wishes

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Fantastic one Karan!!!

Thanks AlphaKilo !

I prefer the Großglockener or the Brenner pass over stelvio anyday. This is beautiful no doubts but after my experience there, I prefer to be in Austria or the Bolzano/Turin side of Italy (if that can be called as a part of Italy )

I had taken the Alfa Romeo Stelvio to the Großglockener but sadly it was closed that day & had to return back, this was clicked just before that Pass;



Hope to complete it someday.

Nice videos altogether. Seems like you had a nice weather to accompany you all the way.

Thanks again, yes the weather indeed was in my favour & so was the traffic.

Nevertheless, as pointed out by you, the roads are bad and equally are the Italian drivers.

True that !

Because of one of such intelligent soul who drove blindly into a tunnel (was a cave) ended up blocking our path and we had to reverse out to let him out. (His side of the road had a blind 90° right turn). In the process of reversing, since the tarmac was slippery with fallen rocks, our rear wheel driven sports cabrio (Z4) lost traction and ended up with its right side scrapping the tunnel walls. The walls were made of barren rocks! You can image the rest.

Ouch !

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by karan561

...



Thanks AlphaKilo !

...

I see that you own the same car as mine (mine is a 318D F30) but yours is petrol. Next time when you are in Bavaria, let me know. We can catch up.

Where did you get the 124 from and how much did it cost (If I may ask)? Now being the vacation season, its hard to get Cabrios here in Germany for Rent. Would have been even better with the Alfa Stelvio on the Stelvio.

[speedguy]

The grin on your face tells the story. Amazing video.

One query, you have mentioned about turbo lag, how about shifting the gears earlier to remain in lag free zone? Have you tried that?

[Maverick5490]

Amazing video Karan! Have to get this checked off my bucket list soon! Please do post info regarding the car rental experience.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by karan561

The road is too narrow to attempt an overtake, but yeah you can easily get around slow cyclists or 2 wheelers.

While the world enjoys driving on Stelvio pass I may be the rare exception because the road is too narrow for my liking.

Instead, I had a much amazing time on the Swiss passes, so much so that I did all major passes twice, wait for it, in a single vacation! My wife wasn't too amused but she's ok with few of my selfish deeds.

I enjoyed the views around much more than driving if I'm being honest. There's a spot which a little below the top (when driving from Italy side) but has much better views than the top itself.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

I see that you own the same car as mine (mine is a 318D F30) but yours is petrol.

YES !

Next time when you are in Bavaria, let me know. We can catch up.

Just few weeks back i was in Essen (close to Dusseldorf), where exactly are you from ?

Where did you get the 124 from and how much did it cost (If I may ask)? Now being the vacation season, its hard to get Cabrios here in Germany for Rent.

The rental company was Hertz, i paid aprox Euro 430 (for 3 days) + Insurance.

Originally Posted by speedguy

The grin on your face tells the story. Amazing video.

Definitely !

One query, you have mentioned about turbo lag, how about shifting the gears earlier to remain in lag free zone? Have you tried that?

True, and i did keep the gearbox busy. But on a mountain road the turbo lag does come into play. However it was just an observation not a complain to be honest.

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Amazing video Karan! Have to get this checked off my bucket list soon! Please do post info regarding the car rental experience.

Hey Maverick, thanks for your appreciation. The rental company was Hertz & i paid aprox Euro 430 (for 3 days) + Insurance.

Originally Posted by fine69

While the world enjoys driving on Stelvio pass I may be the rare exception because the road is too narrow for my liking.

May be, but still an experience any car/bike enthusiast would enjoy for sure.

Instead, I had a much amazing time on the Swiss passes, so much so that I did all major passes twice, wait for it, in a single vacation! My wife wasn't too amused but she's ok with few of my selfish deeds.

Switzerland is no doubt beautiful & i have done a few mountain roads/passes as well, BUT missed out on the Furka pass (someday surely).

[Jeroen]

Great video! Many thanks.

Although I have been to Italy several times over in my Alfa Romeo Spider I have yet to do the Stelvio Pass. On my bucket list! Your video certainly is a stimulans to plan this out in the not so distant future.

This Fiat (and the Mazda) are great little sport cars. Real soft top old school proper sports car. There is nothing that compares driving these cars top down through beautiful scenery. It also shows you really don’t need that much power to have huge fun. Barrelling up and down these sort of roads, isn’t so much about power, but about smooth driving, braking and of course you never, ever let the RPM drop below 4000! Going up or down a hill, you need those revs, if anything for the sound track!

The original Fiat 124 had some very similar design cues as the original Alfa Romeo Spider 105 Series. Simple, elegant. The soft top of these are the best design ever. Two clips and the whole things come down. There isn’t a single soft top automatic design that come close.

A little of topic, but still in line with the soft top theme; My best friend Dennis bought a BMW some years ago. We used to go cruising all over the Netherlands with our two rag tops. One afternoon during lunch he tried to argue that the BMW soft top was a better design, because it comes down / up at the touch of a button.

I argued that the best design is the design that opens the fastest. So we had a little contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dgB04k9NJ8

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by karan561

Just few weeks back i was in Essen (close to Dusseldorf), where exactly are you from ?

I am from the Birthplace of both our cars.

Originally Posted by karan561

The rental company was Hertz, i paid aprox Euro 430 (for 3 days) + Insurance.

Seems like a bit costlier due to the season. We, a few years back got an SLK with DCT for about the same price from SIXT.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Great video! Many thanks.

Although I have been to Italy several times over in my Alfa Romeo Spider I have yet to do the Stelvio Pass. On my bucket list! Your video certainly is a stimulans to plan this out in the not so distant future.

Thank you sir !

This Fiat (and the Mazda) are great little sport cars. Real soft top old school proper sports car. There is nothing that compares driving these cars top down through beautiful scenery. It also shows you really don’t need that much power to have huge fun. Barrelling up and down these sort of roads, isn’t so much about power, but about smooth driving, braking and of course you never, ever let the RPM drop below 4000! Going up or down a hill, you need those revs, if anything for the sound track!

Well said

The original Fiat 124 had some very similar design cues as the original Alfa Romeo Spider 105 Series. Simple, elegant. The soft top of these are the best design ever. Two clips and the whole things come down. There isn’t a single soft top automatic design that come close.

^ True that !

A little of topic, but still in line with the soft top theme; My best friend Dennis bought a BMW some years ago. We used to go cruising all over the Netherlands with our two rag tops. One afternoon during lunch he tried to argue that the BMW soft top was a better design, because it comes down / up at the touch of a button.
I argued that the best design is the design that opens the fastest. So we had a little contest.

^ Very funny video Thanks for sharing, Old School FTW !

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

I am from the Birthplace of both our cars.

Noted.