Elite Traveler January-February 2016

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Ever since society has been civilized enough to enjoy traveling for fun, the idea of hitting the open road has had a romantic, magical appeal. Whether you’d opt to take a Porsche 911 up the West Coast of America or choose a classic Aston Martin (say a DB5) and the winding, switchback Alpine roads between Switzerland and Italy (pictured left), there’s something special about throwing a bag into the back of the car and heading off with nowhere particular to go and no particular time to get there. But how do the world’s great drives, not to mention the great cars, compare? We wanted to put to bed the debate about how Big Sur compares with Route 66 and whether you’d rather be driving a Ferrari or a Porsche (spoiler alert, for most readers it’s neither). The responses were surprising in many ways. For one thing we discovered that Ferrari drivers are either an exceedingly diverse bunch or just so happy to be behind the wheel they don’t really care which road they’re on. Almost everyone who named Ferrari as the car of choice named a different place as a favorite place to drive. On the other hand an overwhelming majority of Porsche drivers were quite clear that when offered the chance to get behind the wheel of their fabulous German driving machines they would head for Big Sur, California. THE MOST POPULAR DRIVES Those Porsche fans weren’t alone. Maybe it's not surprising, but the most popular road trip was that section of Highway 1 – the stretch from San Simeon to Carmel – that brings the thrills of Big Sur. Almost a fifth of readers selected Big Sur as their preferred road trip. It’s not hard to see why. The route offers an almost-perfect combination of drama, iconic breathtaking coastal scenery, great beaches and the ability to get away from it all without having to go truly wild. While there is no escaping the wonders of nature (and there are a few exciting back