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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- I've been over to Germany for the weekend and whilst there, I took the opportunity to drive at high speed on the Autobahn.
Driving at sustained high speed is very demanding & requires extremely good forward observations and careful planning.
The car tops out at a GPS verified 161.9mph or 260.5kph.
If you're going to try this yourself, keep your wits about you, be sensible, and don't go outside your own capabilities. Make sure your tyres are in tip-top condition and that your car is well serviced and remember that just because you can go very fast, doesn't mean that you have to!
For more information about advanced & performance driving, visit my website at www.reglocal.com
proper experienced ex police officer giving fantastic commentary, thanks
I’m an ex M135i owner and I’d forgotten the immense capability of these cars. Taking mine to ‘autobahn speeds’ on the UK motorway was the exact point I decided to sell it. I wasn’t mature enough for it - a point reinforced by watching the way you drive it compared to how I drove mine. I scared myself with it because it was so competent - I felt I had to drive too quickly to get a thrill. Nevertheless - awesome cars. Love your videos and they’ve really changed the way I drive.
I can definitely appreciate where you are coming from as an M135i driver myself but sod taking this car to vmax on UK roads. Spirited, yet safe driving on A roads is enough for me. Incredibly potent machines.
Enjoyable video. One point; flashing your lights in Germany means DO NOT pull out, rather than our custom of flashing to let people out.
Same in Thailand. No ambiguity
Yeah it’s “I’m taking priority”. Which makes sense really
Same in the UK according to Roadcraft...
Decent video, thanks for that.. I like your description too, the way it gives good caution and advice
As I mentioned in my other comment reply, I already naturally employ everything you mentioned tbh...
I've only had my licence for just over a year, as I didn't bother getting it all sorted until recently, and I'm 34, so I don't have tons of practical experience, but I do naturally apply many of the advanced driving techniques in my driving...
That aspect being aware of vehicles coming up on other vehicles that might want to over take, is a nice little one..
In my first 6 months of having a licence, I did some driving work, vehicle movements with 3.5t vans pretty much all around the UK.. Lot's of things come quite naturally to me, as does motor way driving, so it's a little annoying to see how many people on UK motorways sit in the middle lane, and/or don't anticipate people who will need to over take....
Because driving vans on limiter means that some times if you're driving correctly in lane one, and you're coming up onto the over take gradually, you will have a sunday driver coming up on you in lane 2, at about half a mile faster than you, oblivious to the fact that you will need to over take..
So then of course you have to work out the timing, and then either have to take an early overtaking position into lane 2, or signal in advance that will you need to over take, and hope the person doing 72 up lane 2 while I'm topped at 70 in lane one will get the message
I don't seem to get that problem in my car though :D
On a side side note, is it just me who has a distaste for all of the people who are buying over sized vehicles like SUV's now, and also driving them very badly most all of the time? Nissan quashqua or some white nissan SUV or something like that, forget about it.. You may as well pull up, and wait for them to go some where else while they learn to drive, and learn some road craft.. brb let me just brake, then indicate
Very good video Reg. It’s nice to hear an N55 stretching its legs properly!
I’ve driven these roads a lot in the last few years and fine all of this relevant.
With regards to closing gaps and potential risks.....
I’ve consistently found coaches to be a danger.
They have a good few extra mph on the lorries, often jumping into lane two with little regard for others. They’ll make you half your speed, even if it avoids a one second lift from them to let you pass!
So anytime I spot a coach, I am on the lookout for more unpredictable closing gaps and resulting behaviours.
Also, sometimes I find cars towing caravans travel more slowly than the lorries. This can cause similar problems, with the added issue of a lorry being angle to conceal the smaller vehicle from a distant view point.
Have you noticed these, or similar phenomena?
The three lane sections are a luxury by comparison :)
Eyes on stalks and super fine steering inputs for hours, truly is quite draining isn’t it!
I think I drove that stretch from Cologne to the ring this past weekend. After 50 miles of 140 it gets tiring for sure. On the autobahn a flash means don't move out. Flashing someone is a signal of "I'm here don't move". That can be used to your advantage.
If i could add two additional points, more about the car itself as i'll leave the driving advice to Reg ;-)
1) tyre pressures: check the manual, some cars require different tyre pressure settings for high speed. In the UK, where we might 'sneak' up to 120 for a few seconds (feeling like outlaws!) if you're going to drive at >120mph for any length of time, then you need your tyre pressures to be absolutely correct. An underpressure than has no effect at 80 to 100mph can quickly become a big deal at 150!
2) Extended high speed driving really makes the powertrain of your car very hot! Always aim to ensure you have say 10 miles at more normal speeds after an extended high speed run to allow everything to cool down nicely (including the driver... ;-) before stopping or turning off the engine. Whilst modern cars are engineered and tested under the worst case conditions and are unlikely to actually break with such hard treatment it's better to treat your own car a bit better.
"Feeling like outlaws" is so accurate. I've noticed that the "paranoia/speed" graph goes like a hockey stick at about 105 on the dials. It's all fairly linear until then...
Excellent video. Commentary pace shows how much mental work must be done in short time in order to drive fast ,safe and predictably at once. I've been watching with pleasure. I'm waiting for video from Nordschleife.
Used this today Reg, really useful and made me feel a lot safer and confident on my first Autobahn outing - thanks!
Lovely drive. Very instructional; I doubt I will ever be at that speed but the lessons to be learned still apply (only with more margin of error) at lower motorway speeds.
It's nice to be driving a car capable of those speeds. But the driver needs a high level of skills, observations, anticipation and restraint as well!
Great video Reg! Thank you! Reminded me of being in a slow Nissan Patrol on a German autobahn - I think I was looking in the the rear view mirror more than looking ahead. Fast cars like yours were approaching so quickly, I was amazed! Excellent educational video as always! Look forward for the next one!
'not comfortable passing them at really high speeds, I'll keep it at about 130'
half a minute later - 9:20
He was talking about vehicles with closing gaps in front of them in lane 1
Car sounds beautiful!
Superb video as always, John. I'm off to Germany in three weeks time and this video couldn't have come at a better time!
Brilliant video, excellent far distance observation techniques. Certainly moving along a bit! and in full control.Looking forward to the next one.
Just came across this excellent vid.. awesome.. top commentary. Top info..
Interesting watching the MPG plummet as you go above 140mph!
Down to below 8mpg at some points lol, same as my remapped M140i, quite shocking :-))
@James Stewart mine maxed out at 300 mpgs
Another great video. Long time since I drove autobahns, reminded me what an eye opener it was.
If you're ever in europe again with the BMW, would you consider doing a video on driving a RHD car on the right side of the road? Particularly overtaking and whatnot. Cheers pal, your videos have helped me a lot.
I’ve recently purchased this very car... 1 careful lady owner the salesman told me, never thrashed he said 😂 Good to see it being driven very well and to its potential. I can guarantee it will never see 160mph during my ownership though!! 😁
Fantastic Reg, 70 looks so slow after 160!
As I was based in Germany for 6 years driving here was amazing
But remember to tell your insurance company also make sure your tyre pressure are good and the tyre on your car is speed rated for the speed
What do you need to tell your insurance? I assume European cover is fine it’s not the ring
Amzing in this day and age we have to have OPFs in our ///M cars but you can still legally do 160mph in Germany!
Nice commentary ! and funny that you call the right lane the Nr. 1 but here (Holland) it's Nr 2! and the left lane is the Nr. 1. It's confusing because when you enter a part where an extra lane merges than you Nr1 becomes Nr2.
Another great video Reg, thank you.
Great, informative video Reg 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Reg on Autobahn *commentary intensifies*
This vid shows similar findings from when I spent some time there, at speed anticipation becomes your number 1 concern! However our hire car could only muster 130mph. This was on a run down to Austria from Munich. Speed restricted sections and roadworks were generally adhered to by most drivers (unlike the UK) and lane discipline was notably better.
Thoughts on speed: I found the average speed of most cars was 100mph, trucks 80mph and plenty of other drivers exploring the limits like yourself.
Great video, Reg. It had me sweating!
A question.
Tyres have a speed rating, I believe.
Do most UK tyres allow for driving at autobahn speeds?
Great video! Would be great to see some city driving videos if you plan on doing them in the future. Thanks!
I think flashing your full beam means 'I'm coming through' and not 'you can go'. I think this might be why they braked as soon as you flashed. I'm not from Germany, UK driver myself, but I seem to remember watching somewhere else that this is the way they treat flashing full beam on the autobahn.
You should come to America and check out the lane discipline we have here !!!
Ausgezeichnet!
Another great video, Reg! I love the focus on defensive driving, as always, and at those speeds, I can see why you need it. I'm just wondering about the effect on your car, with the tachometer running at up to 6000 rpm at top speed. Is there a risk of mechanical damage at such high revs for a sustained period of time?
Holly DeKatt The car is a ‘performance car’ and designed to withstand high revs and full throttle for sustained periods of time. In essence, it can handle it :)
Great video.
A little bit naughty you say? Yes, I know what you mean. Once upon a time, on a wide open stretch of motorway that I'd previously been done and thought... that looks a likely spot to open her up. It was the speed of the vehicle in the distance going behind me at that made me think that's enough of that... It was gone from my rear view when I checked behind me. Scary.
Looking how quick it moved from 140 to 160 miles per hour I would at a guess without a limiter on that car it could easily top 180 or 190 miles per hour What do you think John
A1 class driver. The trouble starts when people think they just stick Thier foot down all the time????
Welcome to the two wheeled dark side Reg! How’s it going? I know it’s not your particular realm in terms of advanced instruction but I’d be interested to see the result of you strapping a helmet cam on. Nice video, very interesting and I might make my next trip out to Germany.
Perfect timing! I'm leaving Monday morning and heading down to the ring. Wanting to find some de-restricted autobahn sections, where can I find this one?
Talon276 Hi, this was filmed on the A60 between junction 4 (Prum) and junction 11 (Kreuz Wittlich). No more than 45 minutes from the Ring.
What about a blow out or an animal running out and hitting the car at that speed? Great video.
That`s is fantastic!!
I love driving in Germany. My trusty ST220 is getting a little old now, but I won't part with it...
Who did you end up renting from on the Ring?
Think we need some sense on driving and speed in this country. I'm 47 now passed my test at 17. Passed class2 ridged vehicle at 25 and class 1hgv@26 was banger racing when I was 13 and a group B licence holder. I'm travelling 140k average per year just in an artic but I've got the same rights as a 17yo that passed Thier test 10 mins ago. Who can jump into dad's lambo and hit 200mph?????(having not being allowed on a motorway until they've passed Thier test??)what the to. Rant over. Love the video
Hardly anyone drives at such high speeds on the autobahn in Germany. I live there - drive there as well - and know this. Only certain sections are "speed limit free"...mostly it´s too crowded to even try this.
Blimey this needs an incredible amount of skill, perhaps more so than your civilian Advanced Driver courses, makes you think if you were tempted to drive the Autobahn at speed to "say you have done it"
Hah approx 35 miles and probably ~2.5 gallons of petrol?
I understand that the only legal limitation of actually driving at speed on those speed free motorways is the simple rule of always being able to stop in the distance that you can see to be clear. I believe the police can still prosecute you if found or merely that they consider that you have been disobeying this rule and so its subjective or objective and perhaps its actually at their discretion.
Perhaps you can you tell us or enlighten us as to just what is the safe braking distance at the speed that you were going at say 150 or 160 mph cos if, as you say have a bend in front just how do you calculate your speed and distance to stop in relative to that bend or indeed any such bend. There are no regular marker posts or lamp posts or for that matter anything else to give you any clues at all?
That made me sweat. Lol
although this is all common sense it scares me that probably less than 10 percent of drivers in the uk are at this level. And this level is acceptable
you were breaking the speed limit on the Motorway , you recorded speeds of up to 79 mph , not good (:
which is the rough equivalent of going what, 75 on a UK motorway?
I bet other drivers wondered what was going on with you travelling at that speed.
Most autobahn driving from someone not living in Germany is stupid. This is not saving in some cases he stayed in the left lane a bit long. Foreigners want to know how to drive fast in Autobahn may have a look on this video.
Lolyou joker panicking at 120 I done 202mph in the uk
I was on the edge of my chair watching this! Brilliant, calm, in full control high speed driving. Looking forward to the next video.
Junel Cole what a hero you are
I don't see any panicking it seems like confident controlled highly skilled driving to me.
Driving fast? Completed it mate
If your chain of thought isn't better than his commentary, then it was pure chance that you didn't crash.