Same mountain, new cars, same answer. That’s not a coincidence — it’s Timmelsjoch doing exactly what it always does to a test like this one.
Back to the road that keeps deciding things the same way
Timmelsjoch has already settled one test in this series on AWD margin-of-safety logic, and this rematch — different cars entirely, same 2,500-meter former smugglers’ road — exists to see if that verdict was really about the road or just about the specific cars involved the first time. Blind curves, weather that turns in twenty minutes, and a surface that doesn’t forgive overconfidence: this is a road that punishes the wrong kind of car regardless of which specific cars show up to test it.
Three drivers, three flagship-tier supercars, none of them repeats from the original test. Whoever’s narrating takes the Porsche 911 Turbo S — already the AWD margin-of-safety champion of this series. Ron claims the Ferrari 296 GTB, the all-round balance case he’s already made elsewhere. Juliana takes the McLaren 720S, arguing pure combustion precision still has a case even against two more AWD-focused rivals.
The numbers, for anyone who wants them before the story
| Porsche 911 Turbo S | Ferrari 296 GTB | McLaren 720S | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Horsepower | 650 hp | 819 hp | 720 hp |
| 0–100 km/h | 2.7 sec | 2.9 sec | 2.9 sec |
| Top speed | 330 km/h | 330 km/h | 341 km/h |
| Rental (per day) | ~€1,100 | ~€1,900 | ~€2,100 |
| Drivetrain | AWD | RWD | RWD |
All three figures come straight from this fleet’s own listing — no hedging required. Worth noting: the 911 Turbo S has the lowest horsepower figure of the three and won anyway, for the same reason it always does on this specific road.
First stint: the climb, where the numbers looked misleading
The 296 GTB and 720S both went up first, and both made real cases — the Ferrari’s hybrid balance, the McLaren’s outright combustion precision, neither one feeling remotely outgunned by a car with less horsepower on paper. “On a dry road with good visibility, I’m not sure this test goes the same way,” Juliana admitted afterward.
Second stint: the weather turned, and it wasn’t close
It’s what happened on the descent that decided it. Cloud rolled in fast — Timmelsjoch’s signature move — and cut visibility to a fraction of what it had been twenty minutes earlier. The 911 Turbo S’s AWD system and Porsche’s most sophisticated stability tuning gave the narrator margin neither RWD car quite had in reserve. “This is the third time in this series a car’s won specifically because of what happens when the weather turns, not what happens when it doesn’t,” they said. “At some point that’s not a coincidence. That’s just what this road actually tests.”
A bit of context on each car
The Porsche 911 Turbo S already has its own spotlight and won the original Timmelsjoch test on the same logic.
The Ferrari 296 GTB already won the Ferrari choice guide on all-round balance — a real strength, just not the deciding factor here.
The McLaren 720S remains a genuinely excellent pure-combustion platform, covered in more depth in the all-McLaren test.
Practical considerations
Timmelsjoch is a seasonal toll road with genuinely unpredictable weather even in summer — confirm current conditions before planning a visit. All three cars are confirmed available out of Monaco, Munich, and the French Riviera.
Our call: the Porsche 911 Turbo S. Same verdict this road delivered before, with a completely different set of rivals — AWD margin-of-safety wins here, consistently, regardless of which specific cars show up to argue against it. Choose the Ferrari 296 GTB or McLaren 720S for a drier day when outright precision matters more than reserve margin.
All three are standalone rentals out of Munich — a separate booking from the Porsche Europe Road Trip, which drives this exact pass as part of its route. Get in touch and we’ll set one up.