I have finally decided to drive my Coupe to a different country, in fact it is the first time I've taken a car off Blighty's shores! Will be taking my wife and kids camping for a couple of days in Normandy - Lyons La Foret is suppose to be stunning and we're going with friends who have been before.

Just wondered where other people have driven in Europe and what adventures they had? Is the Fiat Coupe well suited for cross continental blasts, in a GT car kind of a way? Did anyone have a disastrous trip with breakdowns and other stuff? Or was it utter motoring perfection?

Oh, and is it more sensible to leave the Coupe at home and take the Honda instead? Just kidding...

I've only driven to Belgium and back for the SpaItalia trip, but loved every minute and my Coupe was well behaved too

Have faith in your Coupe! It and you will love every minute

Not long after getting the Coupe, and before we had kids I took my wife down to Venice in the Coupe via Germany where I just had to drive it at 155mph, the claimed top speed - easy! But I found out many years later that due to the large speedo error it was probably closer to 145mph

Also did Spa last year, as well as doing the Turin trip.

How many kids and how old? And make sure you take all you need for France...

In 2011 I drove my coupe from Livingston, Scotland to Hull and met up with friends. We boarded a ferry to Rotterdam and then did three very long and intensive days driving over mountain passes and through tunnels, all the way to Italy and back. It was glorious. The coupe never missed a beat and was exceptionally comfortable start to finish.
Make sure you take all supplies necessary to be legal (hi vis vests etc) and don't be surprised at the insane level of tailgating that goes on. It's just the done thing. Simply move out of the way.

Kids are 6 and 7.

We travelled down to Dorset last Summer in August (from N Yorks) and they were a nightmare even with the DVD screens we had at the time. Decided we're not going to give up though. At least they're excited about going on a ferry.

With regards to France I've ordered a kit with all the bits required, though I could still do with some spare bulbs. It had better arrive by Friday!

Any particular tips for driving in France? Suppose the main routes have tolls?

With the coupe, I have done every Spaitalia since 2007 and odd local trips to Northern France plus one down to the Loire valley.

On the continent as a whole, probably 100,000 miles in all: I used to live in SW France in the 1970's, and the Paris area where I was based working for an impresario who used to book rock bands throughout the country in the late 1960's. A lot of travel involved there.

Long distances these days I prefer to fly and rent a car with the wheel on the left at the other end.
When you think about it, unless you have a lot of stuff to carry, a 3 hour flight makes more sense than a 36 hour drive to get to the Costa del Sol! It's also a damn sight cheaper, say £100 return versus £700 or so last time I did it.

Watch for speed cameras and cops, speeding will get you an on the spot fine. Some camera spots have a sign saying "Radar" to warn you but don't bet on it.

Toll motorways have the word "Peage" to identify them. Stick to the speed limits as on some motorways they time when you get on and time when you get off and calculate your average speed. If you are too quick then a speeding ticket may follow.

Never cross a continuous solid white line even when you are filtering onto a main road, its the same as crossing a double white line here and the cops are particularly hot on it.

Be ready for motorcyclists to acknowledge courteous driving by sticking their right leg out and forward in salute.

The prudent coupe driver would speak to a specialist insurer to get a continental breakdown/recovery policy... most of the usual suspects will cheerfully sell you a recovery policy, but you will find out too late that their idea of recovery either does not apply to any vehicle over ten years old, and/or does not recover if the book value of the vehicle is less than the repair/recovery cost.

Blimey PeteP - booking rock bands in the late 60s. Sounds more interesting than what I've done with my life so far. Bet you drove some interesting stuff back then too.

I know what you mean about flying, as we've always flown and hired a car at our destination, usually Portugal. Got me thinking about driving all the way to Portugal and stopping off at lots of places on the way. Instead of driving back up through France though I'd get the ferry from Santander to Plymouth or Portsmouth. I looked into this mad idea and the one way crossing ends up being £700 plus of course all the fuel you'd use. And I'm sure the kids wouldn't complain once!

I know someone who drives non stop to see his folks on Gibralter which takes him 21 hours. Madness.

Last year I drove from France to the UK and back, France to Italy and back and France to Spain and back. No issues at all.
So far this year I have booked France to the UK and back and France to Spain and back.
I don't do a lot of miles in between, but the coupe is great on a run.
Not a lot of room in the boot though.

We regularly did London-Berlin to see the kids (sometimes in the 16NA, sometimes in the 20VT), and London-Skye (which isn't actually that much nearer) to see the parents; we've done a tour around the Loire valley, a tour down the Rhine and back up via Berlin(!), a week touring Switzerland, a couple of trips to Strasbourg, and a couple of tours of Northern Italy.

We're planning a round trip of Norway this year, just the three and a half thousand miles...

Plymouth / Roscoff is a good crossing. The roads/countryside is lovely round there and for a first drive abroad is very easy for a Brit.[ on a country road as soon as you leave the ferry enclosure, much to my relief the first time I went there ].

The Coupe is huge compared to an X1/9 - I took various cars abroad with mates usually with X1/9 owners to Italy for about 6 years in a row.......... We got down as far as Modena one year - normally a 2.5k round trip drive. Places like Monza, Portofino, Monaco, St Bernard Pass. You would not believe the places you can stuff a tin of beans in an X! We went back to the Bertone factory and design centre several times and even met Nuccio himself a few years before his passing.
Heres us on the Stelvio years before Top Gear had even heard of it........

Theres actually plans in place between a few mates for a reunion tour next year taking in Cortina and return via the Route Napoleon

I've driven from London to Rome, then back, over a week.

Brilliant journey, epic scenery- some hairy moments going over the alps during a blizzard (February) but to the coupe's credit, whilst other cars were pulling up on the hard shoulder despite having snow tyres, the coupe just kept going, on my toyos. I'm pretty sure the nose was acting as it's own private snowplough!

I've done the trip before in a W124 merc- definitely more comfortable, but not even a tenth of the fun. One road from Perugia to Rome, through Terni... Just spellbinding.

This is all great stuff. Lots of good advice as well. Cheers everyone.

Nello's got the best idea posting photos. Anyone like to share some more? Must be some gems.

Last year's trip... in alphabetical order!

http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Aix%20les%20Bains
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Annecy
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Bergamo
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Beune
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Brescia
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Colmar
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Gargnano <-- coupe in this one
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Houlliere <-- coupe in this one
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Lingotto <-- many many coupes
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Mille-Miglia%20museum
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Mirafiori <-- coupes
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Mont%20Cenis <-- coupe in this one
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Pininfarina <-- coupes
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Schlumpf
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Turin <-- coupes
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Venaria
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Verona
http://s156.photobucket.com/user/nailed_barnacle/library/Italy-France%202014/Vicolunga <-- coupes

Photos, yes. Gems, possibly not.

I've done Le Mans in mine a few times but the longest journeys have been to central Brittany from Yorkshire using the Dover Calais crossing - just about 700 miles and done that a few times in a day, twice solo without issues. Last time was 3 years ago when I made the decision to use the Coupe the day before leaving and hadn't used it for more than a 10 mile journey for a couple of months, and those had been rare. It made it without problem both directions.

In my coupe as far as Bristol Birmingham shepshed!

My dad drove my family and I down to Sicily in a Morris marina ital estate Broom yellow....ish does that count!
Also karlstad Sweden in a mini clubman estate in the 70's

As an update...

Happy to say we managed the 1000 mile trip from Skipton to Normandy and back with zero problems. The boot was jam packed with camping kit, the rear foot wells full of other stuff, and well as the middle of the rear seat, it carried 2 adults and 2 children and even though I made the most of the performance the coupe managed 32mpg on the route to Dover, and more at other times.

The town we stayed at (Lyon la foret) had a fine square in which to sit and enjoy the passing motors. In the morning a number of French Porsche 911s went through and no one batted an eye lid. Then I drove through in the afternoon in my yellow 20vt and the locals couldn't stop staring!

We travelled from Calais to Normandy in convoy with our friends in a Land Rover series 3 dormobile camper. What a bizarre trip...

Then last week I took advantage of a quiet weekday off work and conquered the Kirkstone pass from Windermere to Ullswater and back again the next day.

Just how good are these cars?!

Exactly.
I may be remembering through rose tinted glasses here (mine has been in storage on another continent for almost 7 years now), but mine was excellent for continental trips. Used to leave work on a fri night, grab the last ferry, nip through france, belgium sometimes the netherlands and into Germany. Drive the ring on the sat and sun morn than be back in work for mon. Never had any issues despite some of my foolish mods.
I put my faith in the car even in the height of winter and was never let down.
Tempted to sling the wife and nipper in it when we get back to Europe, but it'll only have to fail once to ruin its impeccable track record so best let it lie.
Your story is most inspiring.

[IMG]http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a553/pericoloso82/Le%20Coupe/IMG_0711_zpsfb17a58b.jpg[/IMG]

Fixed your pic for you

Thankyou Sir,
I'm a bit out of touch these days but other forums seem to post the URL directly. I couldn't work it out.

Spa last year



Although it has to be said the engine had been there on a previous occasion..


(pic acknowledgement to SeanC)

Spa in the coupe is on my bucketlist, what a great looking event. I also think that 2 tone broom yellow with black roof is one of the nicest colour combos i've seen on a coupe

Fixed that for you Simon

What do you expect with the weight of all the must-have accessories I'm carrying around!

I can't believe it's been a year since I started this thread.

We're off on our 1000 mile round trip to Normandy again next week in the Coupe and I just wondered if anyone else managed a decent trip last year? or anything planned for the future?

Always fancied a blast to Italy but don't think the wife and kids would tolerate it!

14,000 miles in 4 years