Autumn Light and Hairpins – A Day in the Black Forest Smelling of Petrol, Electricity and Juniper

Six sports cars, twelve seats, two stages through the autumnal Black Forest – and in between, lunch at a gin distillery. A report on a day when we swapped seats – and perspectives alike.

There are two ways to spend a Saturday in October. One begins with raking leaves. The other with a radio in hand and six sports cars at the door.

We chose the second option.

Shortly before eleven, a sports car centre in Pforzheim. The cars are ready, neatly lined up. Their paintwork reflects a sky that has not yet decided between late summer and autumn. Inside, there is breakfast and the first conversations about who will get into which car first.

Six vehicles that could hardly be more different. The GT4 RS: red, loud, uncompromising. A 911 Carrera S, the benchmark against which everything must be measured. The Taycan Cross Turismo and the Macan Electric, showing how quiet performance can be. And with the Panamera and Cayenne, two e-hybrids that combine long-distance capability with lightness.

At quarter past eleven, things get serious. Accreditation, briefing, distribution of the radios. Who leads, who brings up the rear, what happens if the convoy gets split at a traffic light? Fifteen minutes later, everyone is seated.

11:30 am. Engines on – or not.

That is exactly the beauty of this line-up. While the six-cylinder naturally aspirated engine of the GT4 RS swells behind the seats, the Taycan rolls almost silently off the premises. Two worlds, one convoy.

After a few kilometres, the city is behind us. The roads narrow, the pines grow taller. Fog still hangs in the valleys, while the sun breaks through above. Brief announcements come over the radio: corner, oncoming traffic, photo point.

We were accompanied by a professional videographer who waited at the right spots. At the roadside, at the edge of the forest, in the hairpin bend. You can see the results in our gallery under the Black Forest tour tab.

The special thing about this first stage is not the speed. It is the rhythm. Six cars moving as one unit through the Black Forest. No one has anything to prove, yet you drive together.

1 p.m. We pull into the courtyard of a white house at the edge of the forest. Gin is distilled here – and for the next two hours, we change the subject, but not the attitude.

Because what we see during the distillery tour feels familiar. Blue barrels where the botanicals steep. Ingredients measured by hand. Copper stills behind high lattice windows. Precision, patience, and a certain obsession with detail.

Honestly: it’s not that far removed from what happens in a good pit garage.

Afterwards, lunch in the parlour. Dark wood, warm light, long tables. Conversations revolve around steering feel and recuperation, favourite corners, and the question of whether you can miss the sound of a naturally aspirated engine if you’ve never had one.

3 p.m. Driver change.

Those who spent the morning driving electric now step into the mid-engined sports car. Those who had the naturally aspirated engine learn what instant torque feels like without noise.

This moment is exactly why we planned the tour. It is only in the direct switch that you notice how differently these cars think. The GT4 RS wants to be revved. The Taycan just wants you to hold on tight.

The sun is now lower, the light turns golden, the grass on the slopes glows in ochre and rust. A short stop by the roadside, doors open, a view into the valley. In the wing mirror: only forest and hills to the horizon.

Here, some guests swap sides – to the passenger seat. In the 911 and the GT4 RS, it’s time for the 'Race Taxi', with two experienced drivers from our team at the wheel.

It’s not about putting on a show. It’s about feeling what precision feels like. The exact turn-in point, the early glance towards the exit, calm hands on the steering wheel while the car works.

Anyone stepping out afterwards has an inkling of how much happens between driver and car before you even notice it. And of what 9,000 rpm feels like when the GT4 RS's engine revs out right behind your head.

4:30 p.m. Theoretically, it would be over now. But no one is in a hurry – so we spontaneously add another hour.

5:30 p.m. The radios are returned, the last photos are taken, and then everyone makes their own way home.

Perhaps that is the real takeaway of this day. It’s not about which car is the best. It’s about what each one does to you – and about sharing that moment with people who see it the same way.

The Black Forest was the perfect stage for it. We’ll be back.