Good evening Harry, thanks for the video. The two-lane Autobahn and the traffic around Freiburg make it too difficult to get to 300 km/h plus. Next time stay in Offenburg, 30 min. north of Freiburg, where the 3-lane section starts. Early Sunday, I go sometime out with my SL63 and hit 320 km/h without putting as much stress on the brakes and the driver ;-). I recommend you to stay at the beautiful Liberty Hotel, the old Prison of Offenburg, in the city center, 5 minutes away from the autobahn, or at the excellent Hotel Ritter in Durbach (a vineyards town), 15 minutes away from the autobahn entrance. By the way, it was pretty easy to identify you in the very rare Project 8 Jag, last Monday. Best Regards, Nicolas (the guy who said hello in my girlfriend's old beat-up X1 on the French side of the border)
@@alistairwillock7266 We don't see enough Great-Britain license plates around Europe anymore. Hope the insanity will end soon and then have a beer... a GT.... a glass of vin... and start again together... 😉
Harry, I love all your videos. As a German I’d like to thank you especially for your careful and respectful approach to driving the derestricted Autobahn. I expect nothing else from a gentleman like you, with your vita anyway, but I think it is very important for everyone out there to have good role models for attempting highspeed runs over here. If all comes together they are good fun, but they are certainly no joke (everyone knows we Germans don’t make jokes). Hats off, and keep the videos coming! Greetings from Berlin!
Agree. Pre Brexit / Covid I was doing UK to Munich and Munich to SW France 2-3x a year and these fast runs are fine for short periods but are highly stressful (loads on wheels/tyres, cars not seeing you coming etc) so would sit around the 160-180 kmh mark. It also helped with fuel consumption 😆
I'd be particularly worried about someone from the UK who has driven all their lives in a maximum speed 70 mph regime taking their M3 or 911S to Germany for a high speed run without any experience or instruction about driving fast. When we lived in what was then West Germany in the 1960s, my father had Mk2 Jaguars. Years before I was old enough to drive, he taught my brothers and me about driving safely at speed. One of the key things was anticipation e.g. watching the traffic patterns as far as possible ahead and preparing to slow down if it looked like someone was thinking of moving into the LH lane. When I was old enough to drive and I had a licence and some experience, I felt confident at 205 (indicated) kmh and, more importantly, my passengers felt safe. We didn't cruise at maximum speed all the time. 180 kmh in a manual with overdrive was comfortable in good weather conditions.
@@hugohugo2832 Drive on the right, overtake on the left; constantly keep checking your mirrors, especially before switching lanes to the left. That’s the basic stuff. Monitor traffic ahead of you. I usually slow down when approaching a group of cars. You never know if one of them is going to switch lanes all of a sudden. Be respectful, you don’t own the Autobahn just because you are in a fast car. Don’t go faster than you are comfortable with and avoid being in a rush, especially when you borrow a car. Knowing that you have only little time with the car and wanting to make the most of this occasion may lead to poor decisions. The more time you have and the more relaxed you are the better the experience. I personally prefer longer journeys, A to B, it just feels more purposeful than a 2 hour round trip. And on such journeys, if you are lucky, you get into that flow where you are cruising at about 200 Ks for a while, maybe together with another car that goes the same pace. I find these occasions much more enjoyable than short runs at super high speeds.
me being from Freiburg, I love seeing Harry blasting along my daily commute. I should talk to my boss, I could be in the office way earlier if I got a Project 8 as a company car....
I did wonder how Mrs Metcalfe might react. After a fast burst in one of my Astons on the Autobahn, I now refer to the wife as the speed limiter. She kicks in at 150mph. I'm also reminded of a story about Thomas Bscher sending his road-going McLaren F1 back to Woking for a service. The service manager phoned him to let him know that they would have to replace the data logger as it was showing 200mph+ pretty much every day. Thomas admitted that that was just his daily commute and the data was correct.
I had a 1997 Jag XJR for a while... an important feature was the deeply recessed instruments that meant the front seat passenger couldn't see the speedo needle :-) At least, not until it got round to about 135mph.
Brilliant!! - My speed limiter is getting punched in the ribs by my partner if I go over 110MPH when she is riding on the back of my Honda VFR1200 Crosstourer. 🤣🤣🤣
I pass ' your' Autobahn spot several times a month with 250-260 km/h when it is not busy on the Autobahn ...greetings from the Netherlands. Porsche Panamera 4.
"exploring the outter regions of space travel on the autobahn" got me lmao definitely enjoy these different kinds of vids Harry, I'd love to see you experiment more with this kind of stuff.
Truly amazing that both a small 4 DOOR sedan can do 200mph with relative ease and that you had the balls to test it young man! (not to mention without a 4 point harness or helmet). You're a true JAAAAAG man, I love it
Extraordinary to think the XJ220 super car had a top speed (claimed) of 212, and 25 years later Jaguar had a “super saloon” car with four seats and a decent boot doing nearly the same speed.
Well, no idea how exact this speed is, but this is just "indicated". Might be bang on, might be 20 mph out. Would have liked to see GPS, but maybe I am taking things to seriously.
@@GoldenCroc as I know from Jaguars and Land Rover their speedo shows around 6mph or 10km/h more. So this were at least 308-313Km/h or around 193mph. The P8's speedo might be more accurate than the one in an f-pace though xD
Hi Harry, your Project 8 is totaly amazing. If you are looking for other Autobahn tracks where you can try to go faster than 200 mph without much traffic, than try the A36 or A38 in the west of Bernburg or Halle/Saale in the morning or evening or the A20 in the north of Neubrandenburg the whole day. All three Autobahn tracks only have 2 lanes but traffic is so low that you can throttle to the end. On the A20 a friend of mine reached 325 km/h in a tuned Porsche 911 turbo very easy. Greetings Sebastian
I think that's the thing - you have to respect the speed. I did 158mph on the autobahn couple years ago(early hours of the morning near Berlin, in a GLA45) and it was absolutely nerve wracking, even though the car was super stable. And then you watch one of these channels where they test max speed on the autobahn and the dude drives holding the steering wheel with one hand at those speeds. Just mental.
Amazing video Harry, especially love the way the fast Audi behaved when he saw that you were commited and faster and pulled out of the lane very safely and respectfully. Immediately rewatched this video again on my biggest screen. Great fun.
Yeah in Germany they at least teach lane etiquette. I had 150 mile drive today going home from Wales and I had to flash about 5 people in the right hand lane with my high beams to get them to move over. As they were sat in the right hand lane overtaking nobody and I was faster. I was doing 70mph plus 10% so hovering around 80mph cheeky slip of the tongue...... Best part was one of them moved into the left hand lane and then beeped me when I was alongside overtaking him. Oh and the others all gave me dirty looks for flashing them. We wonder why driving standards in the UK are so pathetic yet so many people in this country don't understand basic lane etiquette. Oh also I did keep a 2 car distance I hate tailgating and most of those cars I flashed I usually (motorway was quiet) moved back into the middle or furthest left-hand lane after overtaking them. It amazes me so many people in this country do not understand such a basic concept of good driving. It makes the motorway more dangerous and slower. Amount times I see some brainless tit holding up everyone overtaking someone in right hand lane doing 71 whilst the driver in middle lane is doing 70 so it's a crawl race is amazing. At least in Germany they drill into learners head when you are done overtaking you move over immediately and don't be a nob. That and if you are going to overtake put your foot down and do it don't sit at 71 overtaking someone doing 70.
In Australia the Audi driver would have brake checked him and if Harry had flashed his lights it would have been fisticuffs at the first opportunity...Sad.
@@teabagtowers3823 Yeah, one of the reasons these speeds are allowed here in Germany is indeed that on the Autobahns people tend to be better behaved. I feel safer at 120, 130 on an Autobahn than at 80 on a UK motorway, not just because of the amounts of traffic, but simply that in Germany you know where people are going to be on the road and what they're going to do - in the UK it's little more than a coin toss.
@@philipminns3933 In Germany you can actually trust other drivers because the process to learn to drive there is so much more rigorous. They are not going to move out on you when you are overtaking. Amount of times I've been in the right hand lane and someone stuck in the middle lane just moves out without looking and forces me to slam on my brakes is amazing. Best part is they get angry at you for beeping or flipping them off. Hazard perception and general etiquette in Germany is so much better. We saw in this video when that Audi was finished overtaking he saw Harry was faster and moved over. Harry didn't need to flash him or anything else this Audi driver quickly moved over. I mean it was textbook lane etiquette..... Compared to the UK where you have to flash some people in the furthest right-hand lane for them to get the hint and then they give you evils for doing so. I mean seriously f*** UK drivers in general so many clowns who look to have got their licence from a box of Special K.
Well that was different! Astounded that both yourself and the Project 8 were so nonchalant about travelling at 200mph. I can remember Metin Brundle proving the xj220 at Nardo and all of the preparation that went into the run, yet here you are, just saunter onto the autobahn and get to 200mph without any fuss. Simply amazing.
I drive in Germany every summer. A81 Heilbronn to Wurzburg - unrestricted and always very quiet - especially early Sunday ...I was doing nearly 95 mph there recently in my Corolla....lol . Amazing to think that in the UK you would make the front pages of all the dailys if you did that speed, regardless if the road was empty. Thanks for constantly high end content Harry.
What an utter understated beast... been waiting for ages for this the pace from 130 to 190 ..with the family in the back !! and a nice comfortable 20c on the aircon
It's very noisy though. My XF diesel is restricted to 149mph but does it calmly and quietly. Funny thing, I think it says in the manual, if you wish to have the restriction taken off, contact your Jaguar dealer. I haven't felt the need! Also the manual tells you how to change settings for "spirited" road driving, and also race track driving! :-)
I recall the 1st time I was in a high bhp car on the Autobhan. My wife is German and we were visiting friends in Heidelburg. Our friend picked us up from the station in his M5 Touring estate with his 4 year old kid in the back. He then drove at absolutely ridiculous speeds to his house. The kid fell asleep. My wife and I were terrified. He wasn't showing off. This is a man who drives to Nordshleif for the day. He drifts his MX5 round local round abouts. I thought it was just him that drives like this. No. His wife is just as fast. Over the years I've got used to driving at high speeds in Germany. It's absolutely insane in rush hour. Lines of cars doing well over 140mph nearly bumper to bumper. One mistake and you are all dead. You really have to be keyed in as Harry says and it takes some balls until you've built up the experience. My brother in law manages a Ford performance dealership. One day he brought home his bosses car. It was a Ford Mustang Saleen S302 black label with a boost valve. 800bhp plus. He took me for a spin round the local roads. The acceleration was mind blowing. After 5 mins I had to ask him to stop and puked by the side of the road. The next day he offered me another ride and I had to refuse. It was just too fast.
@@burchelwinkler9778 I wasn't laughing at either time but can see the funny side now. My brother in law always reminds me when we drive past the spot I asked him to stop and be sick. 😂😂 That Saleen was something else....
@@bargepoled I can sure understand why u were not at the time but hey u came through it and can see the funny side of it now;man harry was so cool doing it I'm sure I would be asking him 2 slow down;
@@bargepoled I'm 19 and my first time hitting the autobahn on my own, I drove up to 190Km/h in a 2012 c250. The car has a speedo vmax of 250Km/h but I strongly hesitate to do more than 200 with winter tires. It just felt ridiculously fast in such a relatively small car. It's definetely something that comes with experience, getting used to those speeds but it also needs some kind of character. Not everybody is meant to be good driver, or the driver for those speeds. I can only imagine how bonkers fast 300 is
"It gets a proper move-on...." Very nicely understated, Harry. I think my heart was beating faster than yours as the speedo approached 200. Thanks for the video.
loved it. ive been on the Autobahn at 110mph (Vauxhall Astra 1.7CDTI - top speed) and a Porsche came past like I was standing still. Bonkers but responsible driving at the same time.
Yep, however fast you are going there’s usually someone behind going faster! I Remember rapidly pulling into lane 2 at 130mph as a tiny silver spec in the mirror had turned into a big silver Porsche that shot past like I was out for a Sunday drive!
Just... another Sunday morning Run down the Autobahn IN the P8- with 200mph as the bench mark and our Uncle Harry. Thank you, Sir Harry for bringing us along in another one of your road trip adventures. Mrs. M who declined the offer- was having a decent breakfast, a relaxing soak in the tub- maybe testing out the vineyard choice 2021 Beaujolais Nouveau while Harry was out having his fun. He was smiling when he got back. She was smiling when he got there. It was a good Sunday just saying. P8 the hidden beast disguised as a four door saloon. The earlier video of the P8 run in wintery condition proves again what a wonderous machine the P8 is. The day of the hill climbs for track day fun is another example. Be it a drive across Europe- with 4 wheel drive, V8, big boot, seats 4, can do 200mph when asked, a day of hot hill climbs maybe, or... just a run into town down the store for Mrs. M. The P8 delivers the goods. Another classic in your road trip adventures Harry- Thank you. These journey's you take with your wife and bringing us along too, are a real pleasure for the great scenery, the overall behavior of the car under different road surfaces, weather patterns and the destinations you travel to- the Sahara or Artic Circle- down to the boat in the South of France these are not "just" road trips- Harry's Travels and the human driving population who happen to be in his way.
“It’s got some chuffing pace” 😂 That’s the most British comment you could ever make whilst warp speeding in a Jaaaaag on the Autobahn lol. Loving these episodes! Thanks Harry.
Next time , stay a few days in freiberg . and go 400 yards into the mines , you can go with a tour and have nice lunch downstairs with Slivovitz a plum liqueur . Food at Hotel Kreller . I restarted that one up after the fall of the wall . drive to teplitz Czechia a pitoresk drive . Cheers Chef Erwin
Fantastic to join the experience in a British car. After calmly ticking off another dream from the bucket list, I visualise Harry returning to the hotel and quietly sitting back at the lunch table, joining Mrs M, and mumbling: "Yer" before slurping a glass of wine!
I remember my father testing out our "new" Bentley Turbo R at speed....that was a sight (& sound) to behold, but was a similar car in its day to the Project 8.
Excellent to share this privileged experience albeit from the comfort of my armchair. That is one quick cat. Not surprised the camera assistant aka the missus opted to stay in bed! 😊👍 Thanks again Harry for another great video
Like most commentators on here, I loved watching this video, although I have to say Harry's Jaguar was relatively serene compared to my own top speed run. It was a long time ago, 1981, I think, and I was lucky enough to own a Lancia Stratos at the time. I was a bit more 'adventurous' than now, so I decided to see if I could 'max' out the Stratos on a quiet bit of dual carriageway very early one morning. The road was dry and deserted, and as I hit about 245 kph on the speedometer, the Stratos felt less than totally stable, while the very slight curve in the road ahead was enough to convince me this wasn't the time to lift off the throttle in case I unstabilized the car. I gently lifted off the throttle and decided it was more of a rally car than an Autobahn car! As former Car magazine publisher and Stratos owner Ian Fraser once wrote, 'the Stratos always feels like it has a pair of eyes looking left and right.' Perfect for the twisties, not so good in a straight line... Thanks for another enjoyable video, Harry, and for reviving a slightly scary memory!
That was immense! P8 is a serious built of kit. It builds speed so convincingly all the way up to 190ish when it slows down a bit, but it's still climbing. It looked like there was more to come, but who knows if it changed gear at that point. Wow. Nice work Harry!
Wow. I’ve been driven on the autobahn a few times. My dad drove us to see family out there and I remember him being a bit stressed in our 1.6 Sierra, especially when trying to keep up with my uncle in his 2.0 Vento. I also remember seeing the aftermath of some catastrophic accidents. As an adult, I’ve visited friends out there and the speeds they drove at and their tailgating were freaky scary.
I'm near Harry's age, and I can't help thinking how astonishing this is. A four-door sedan, truly useable every day, that blasts up to 200mph with real gusto, and without complaint or catastrophe. Doesn't overheat, doesn't wiggle around on the road -- it's almost... boring. And it's legal! Full credit to Germany for the existence of the Autobahn. Wow, just wow.
This was a fantastic Harry's Garage video. Had me riveted from start to finish. Big thank you to Mr M for sharing with us such an intimate moment for any petrolhead as maxxing out your pride and joy.
Bravo Harry. For some unknown reason I started to think about Barry Sheene reaching 180 on that little 500 and Mick Grant hitting 200 on the Kwacker. Much better with a shell around you.
I've done 160mph on a motorbike, on a backroad in NSW (the Putty Road) - it was brilliant - until I throttled off and got a bit of a ' tank slapper' (speed wobble)... 4 wheels can be really handy sometimes, still makes me pucker when I think about it .
I must say that 200mph out of a non-aero dynamic brick like the P8 is impressive. You looked like you were on a Sunday drive in the park given the lack of obvious vibration. Kudos to the Jag engineers producing something so quick yet refined and practical.
320kmh - used to be my regular Monday morning commute Lugano to Milan Malpensa in my e60 M5. One hand on the wheel, still waking up :). Honestly, high speed does nothing for me other than get me places quicker. More fun in my GR Yaris over the mountain in 3rd gear.
Excellent work Harry, balls of Steel! One day I hope to max my XE S on the autobahn via Nurburgring. For your Euro travels can I recommend an Oasser tyre inflator off amazon, £40 then you don't have to bother finding garages with air! It's tiny so you can just stick it in the boot...
I did wonder why he did not have one, I have had one in my cars for 20 plus years, they are much smaller and lighter and more powerful than the old thing in my old shed. :)
That's just what I was thinking. 200mph passing people doing 100 is the equivalent of driving at 100mph at someone parked. Obvious, but kind of extraordinary.
This bought back memories of when I was young and stupid. I used to use the 'English autobarn' A38 between Minworth and Bassets pole to test the top end of my Audi Coupe when I was in my early 20s. Always late at night when there was no one around, 145mph and it ran out of numbers... not anymore. Great video Harry.
Harry, even though you've done these speeds before it was important that you promoted the need to check and double check the tyre pressures because many owners of high performance vehicles "have the money" and no expertise. My adrenalin was running so I can imagine the buzz you must get but also totally understand the reluctance of your "camera lady" to join in the fun.
Hello Harry. Following a heart attack a couple of years back I have to be careful what I do. After this video, I think I might have to be careful what I watch too!!! Wonderful to watch. Thanks for the fun. Cheers, Bob.
OMG! This channel is relatively new to me, i am addicted , i have known about Harry for many years Evo , etc , but the videos are just so good better than any other car reviewer out there , a non nonsense , pure truth approach , and the diversity of cars !-he is just so damned good ! Shame he cant do my Mini JCW 2021 clubman , but hey that probably is a shopping car to what he is used to! LOVE THIS CHANNEL
Having driven very quickly on autobahns for many 1000s of KMs over decades, I'm quite familiar with the scenario. Interesting vid, but some context for the uninitiated might have been good: e.g. explanation of the build quality of these (as yet) unrestricted sections of road and how they're (uniquely in the world) designed for high speeds as well as - crucially - the quality of driving around you: most importantly the lane discipline and looking ahead. Extremely rarely will you see the snap lane-change manoeuvres so common almost everywhere else.
It looks so "cute" for a german how serious he takes all the preparations for 200 mph run :) But im happy he takes it seriously in comparison to other wankers we get from uk nl and Switzerland.
@@bernieschiff5919 Yeah, a good friend's wife was in critical condition for 2 weeks after a ladder fell off the truck in front of her. It wedged under the front end and she became a snow mobile.
Nice video! Btw, wouldn't it have been logical to put even more pressure in than the rated 3.4 and 3.2bar with warm tires? The pressure increases with heated tires so if you inflate them while they are warm you should put more pressure in then the rated pressure while cold.
You are correct, but problem is you dont really know how much they increase, since that wasnt stated in the manual. Perhaps better to just do the stated pressures, rather than risk having too much,
@@GoldenCroc I agree, impossible to know without measuring tire pressure (and even then). But lowering the pressure is the exact opposite of what should be done;)
Quite right and if being an anorak you'd measure tyre temperature at the time you inflate it and increase the pressure in proportion to the temperature above the reference pressure. So a stipulated 3 Bar at 20 deg C (nominally 293 K absolute) would be 3 Bar X 313/293 = 3.2 Bar in a tyre at 40 deg C .
Something you will experience on the German autobahn! As a kid I went down with my Civic with 120 mph feeling fast, only to be passed by a Porsche doing 200 mph!
I can try feebly no doubt, on how that feels! On a holiday to Europe, I rented a Peugeot 205 to get from Mulhouse Museum Nationale -Schlumph Museum Bugatti Collection- to Cannes and Monaco GP. Outright disrespecting the limits, for 9 hours I pegged the loud pedal. 105-106 indicated the entire distance, I was passed by 160+ mph Benzes mostly. I could view the star, but the model or body type...no way. Earned $640 US in driver tickets automatically assessed to my National Car Rental 'agreement'. When that unexpected debit belatedly showed up on the month-end statement, I was busted by the wife obviously. My fellow Proteus C-Type pilot said "that was a bargain; just where in the US can you drive for 9 hours derestricted for Any Amount of money?"
@@crazyfroggie6546 I went past a truck at 135mph in my 2 ton 25 year old Jag and it scared the life out of him, he actually swerved ! I think he must have been nodding off .
I was doing 125mph on AUtoroute Sud, in 1973, in our 240Z [flat out], and the Ex said there are headlights coming up fast, pulled over and a Ferrari, and then a RS Porsche come pass leaving me in their dust. My estimate 150mph++
The moment you're watching Harrys Jag accelerate from 100mph at the same rate your old Audi A3 TDi accelerates from standstill... Love the video Harry, I just kept smiling throughout, thanks.
I once did 247km/h on the German A1 on HR rated tires. Lack of straight line stability... That sure felt sketchy! I thought something was wrong so stopped at the next rest area and checked for a low tire but they were all good. Then i suddenly realised that if was staring me in the face: HR tires! Oh dear, nevermind. Should have been VR or better yet ZR tires.
@@jfv65 One of the tyre sizes on my MR2 (the fronts I think) were only available in H rated, so I had to use those. I did an indicated 150mph (240 km/h?) on those on the autobahn...didn't give them a second thought, they were good tyres!
Oh Harry…take me back there!!…in 2019 we did a Grand Tour in Germany and the de restricted Autobahns are just wonderful when treated with respect, care, consideration for others and a close eye on tyres and weather. My Discovery Sport is nowhere compared to the Project 8. It it still did around 900+ miles at 95/100 mph which is a vast improvement on dear old England! I found out that ninth speed only engages at 87mph so is never used in the U.K. we were going back again but C19 got in the way…maybe next Spring we will have another go…I have friends to see in Berlin and we need more time in Weimar!! Stay safe…enjoy our roadworks..a 50 mph joy of course.😬😬😬😃😃😃
The unlimited sections of Autobahn do seem mad to people from other countries but to Germans it’s normal and only possible due to the high level of driver training and lane discipline… in the UK and many other countries it would just be carnage. Germans do have bad drivers but they are in the minority, unlike the UK where it’s the majority.
Unfortunately we have probably the same rate of bad drivers here in Germany as anywhere else in the world. But what most of even these are aware of is the fact that on the Autobahn somebody can come from behind at a FAR greater speed than their own at ANY moment, so they are simply used to that specific problem more than in countries with restricted motorways. Hence the maybe better lane discipline. But middle lane w.....s are VERY common here as well... Having lived in the UK for several years I certainly wouldn't think of English people as worse drivers in comparison!
Living in Germany and having been driving on the Autobahn my whole life it sometimes takes a video like this to remind me how crazy it actually is. Fastest I ever did is around 260 but man objectively that is just pure madness. The Americans will never let go of their guns and the mentioning of the word 'Tempolimit' has us all riled up in no time here in the fatherland.
The autobahn is why I love to drive long distances in Germany. Although to crack 200mph you have to get up very early to avoid the traffic. May 2020 I had the most amazing trip, Sunday midday and sunny counting only three other cars between Basel and Frankfurt. Which took me just one hour and forty five minutes averaging well over 200km/h.
