In late June 27 cars took off for 7 days of automotive fun in the shape of our Italian Job driving tour. After cutting swiftly through France we hit the Black Forest in Germany, taking a few back roads meaning less traffic. We dipped in to Switzerland for a few hours, taking in the Fluela Pass (it would be rude not to) and then on to Italy.

Our meticulously planned route meant that the spa hotel we had booked on night 2 of the trip set us up nicely for an early drive up Stelvio.  It was worth the early alarm call as there were just 2 vans on the pass and then us – we’ve driven Stelvio many times but never has it been this quiet and indeed enjoyable to drive.

The eclectic mix of cars on the trip all excelled in their own way… a fresh from the production line Lotus Emira sat beautifully alongside the classic lines of a BMW E46 M3 in Laguna Seca Blue. A Golf GTi Clubsport and 2 x fast estates ( both Golf Rs) mixed it with the Alpine A110S, Mini GP2 & Honda Civic Type-R to mention a few. Porsche Cayman GT4s are proving very popular on our driving tours at the moment, we had 4 on this trip.. Then the big guns joined the party too… Aston DBS plus 2 x Vantage F1 Editions, Porsche 911s in various guises, Audi R8 V10, Mercedes AMG GT, a Jaguar F Type SVR and Nissan GTR R35.

In all honesty it really doesn’t matter what you’re driving, especially when you hit the delights of the Italian Alps & Dolomites.