With CUPRA on the trail of the myth "German Autobahn"

Some things are more than just the sum of their parts. This applies to the vehicles of the CUPRA brand as well as to the German autobahn. Its approximately 13.190-kilometer network connects cities and regions across the country, awakening memories, fueling wanderlust and anticipation. All of them are intense emotions that are closely related to mobility and can be experienced even more intensely in a CUPRA vehicle - also thanks to its five different driving modes. So: off on a round trip to five special moments on and along the motorway in the CUPRA Formentor, the brand's current bestseller.

Comfort zone Berlin: the AVUS

• The first test track for motor vehicles only: 100 years of AVUS
• More than 400 km / h: Record run from 1938 near Darmstadt
• Well hidden: drivable runways

The round trip begins in the federal capital, more precisely: on the northern section of Autobahn 115. Part of the route is already 100 years old - and therefore much older than the term Autobahn, which was first coined in the 1930s. The “Automobile Traffic and Practice Road” - better known by its abbreviation AVUS - was the first road in the world when it opened in 1921 that was withheld from motorized vehicles and designed for corresponding speeds. In memory of the advances in chassis technology since that time, we switch to comfort mode and are pleased that we are not allowed to be guinea pigs here, but in a state-of-the-art vehicle that makes traveling as pleasant as possible with its technology.

The motorway network: off-road mode

With the opening of the first autobahn, today's A555 between Bonn and Cologne, in 1932, the triumphant advance of high-speed roads without traffic lights and intersections began. Today the German motorway network is the fourth longest in the world after those in China, the USA and Spain and covers 13.191 kilometers. Since reunification in 1989 alone, another 4.470 kilometers have been added. Up until a few years ago, on the A11 between Berlin and the border with Poland, you could still drive on the last remaining stretch of the Reichsautobahn: the concrete slabs laid around 80 years ago were just a better mogul slope until 2019. The lane has been modernized for a few months and there is finally a hard shoulder - as a precaution, we still switch to off-road mode in order to be comfortable on the road.

Individually fast: other countries without speed limits

The "German Autobahn" owes its sometimes mystical reputation to the sections on which there is no speed limit. This currently applies to around 8.000 kilometers of the entire network. Often found, but not true, is the claim that Germany is the only country with "free travel" in sections, i.e. no speed limit. Because, for example, in Burundi, Haiti, Somalia, Nepal or North Korea, there is no upper limit, at least legally. In most of these countries, however, a higher speed is unthinkable, mainly due to the lack of suitable routes. On our way west, we head for a section without a speed limit and switch to the “Individual” driving mode in the CUPRA Formentor, which is our personal favorite setup. For a few minutes we enjoy the sound and the power of the engine under the hood - and in combination with the road construction that allows fast driving, we also enjoy the feeling of safety in the vehicle.

Sporty: speed record on the autobahn

Between Frankfurt am Main and Darmstadt we switch the crossover SUV to sport mode. The chassis tightens, we trade comfort for unconditional ground contact. Rudolf Caracciola also needed it on January 28, 1938. At that time, he set his speed record of 432,7 km / h over a kilometer with a flying start in a Mercedes W125 with a 5,7-liter V12 engine and around 560 kW (approx. 760 hp). It was the fastest speed driven on a public road for 79 years and was only topped on a highway in Nevada, USA in late 2017. The Koenigsegg Agera RS reached 445,5 km / h there in the same discipline, but required 1.360 horsepower to do so. In awe of the courage that Caracciola required in the record drive at that time, we pass the section on which the highest speed ever reached on a German autobahn and move north in the direction of Paderborn.

On the runway in CUPRA mode

The American actor Tom Hanks once raved in a talk show about the German autobahn as "straight and even like a runway". It was certainly not clear to him that his proverbial formulation was overtaken by reality on some sections of the autobahn: For training purposes and in case of defense during the Cold War, many routes, including here on the A44 between Büren and Geseke, were level and maintain kilometer-long dead straight sections in order to convert the road within a few hours for the take-off and landing of even large military aircraft.

The central reservation was left without greenery, guardrails were not set in concrete, but stuck in ground sockets; The parking lots were so large and curves were equipped with the appropriate radii that even large machines could land and take off again here. These emergency landing sites, or NLPs for short, have not been used since the last major exercises in the mid-1980s, have for the most part been dismantled and can only be recognized at second glance.

For a feeling similar to that in a plane taking off, the fifth driving mode, the CURPA mode, has to be used. In this most uncompromising setup, you head down the dead straight slope towards home. Always with the reassuring feeling that you are not only traveling in a particularly safe, but also extremely adaptable vehicle. Photo credit: Cupra (Seat Sport SA)

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