The Gran Turismo.

GT. You've probably seen those letters on hundreds of car models. Just looking at a random public car park, chances are there's one labeled "GT" right there. 

But very few people actually know what it means. 

It means "Gran Turismo". And for the very young of you, the popular PlayStation game borrowed its name from this phrase. Not the other way around. I repeat, NOT the other way around. GT cars have existed for... well, almost as long as cars have existed, really. As for the brand of the car on these pictures, Alfa Romeo, you can trace it back to the late 1920s: The 6C 1750 Gran Turismo. But is this where the story ends (or rather starts)? Not by far.

The Gran Turismo, or the Grand Tour, was (according to Wikipedia): "The traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means". Put in short, already from the 1660s young men (and some women) travelled through Europe, visiting historic sites and important metropoles around the continent on a quest to seek enlightenment, both cultural and sociological. And to have a hell of a blast doing it, probably.

After the arrival of the motor car, the Grand Tour got a different meaning. Suddenly everybody could undertake a European journey, given the time and petrol money. Travelling became classless. So the upper class asked for more. They needed a vehicle specially suited to the task of propelling one or two well-off people (preferrably man and woman) through Europe at a higher rate of speed than other people, without making it a stressful undertaking. In other words, they wanted a "performance or luxury automobile capable of high speed or spirited long-distance driving". (Another Wiki definition.)

These days, lots of cars are awarded with the GT label. But they still have one thing in common: They are specially suited to carrying its occupants through the continent in comfort, style, (in some cases) luxury and at a decent pace. Put short: It's probably a petrol head's most perfect way of spending a summer vacation. So I did. 

In an Alfa Romeo GT.

I´ve barely owned this car for a year, but it's already totally won me over. It's taken me through the darker, colder winter months without a single Alfa-ish hickup. It just goes and goes. It drives excellent, it's very comfortable thanks to its soft-but-hard suspension and huggy leather sports seats, it's got all the luxury I'll ever need such as an automatic climate control, cruise control, good sound proofing and a cracking BOSE stereo. And it's cheap to run, too. Okay, so it's not the scrumptious 3,2 V6. I'll admit it: It's a diesel. But it doesn't matter. It's still a fast car. And Alfa made it, so it's okay.

My journey started from Oslo, Norway. A ferry took us from Larvik to Hirtshals in Denmark where we quickly hit the beaches (a couple of pictures above). A short day on German autobahns later, and the lovely Mosel valley and its glorious roads penetrating the wine ranks lay under the tires. But the Alfa craved for more.

So that's what it got. A decent Gran Turismo through Europe must contain at least one decent mountain pass. The European Alps are littered with them, just have your pic.

I chose five. First, the Grimsel Pass...

Then the Furka Pass right down the road...

...and on the way down to Italy, the Gotthard Pass. Not the newer, wider road, but the old cobblestone path. A nice but bumpy ride.

Then some days of rest (and a good cleaning of the car after days on the road) in a small city by the shores of Lake Iseo north of Brescia. The car, unsurprisingly, felt right at home.

But one can only have so much rest. Further down the path lay the big daddy of all European mountain passes; Passo Stelvio. On the way there lies the connected Umbrail Pass with its tight, snaky bends...

 ...and, after the rainclouds had passed, the main course: Stelvio, at 2758 metres. 

I drove it up and down...

...and up...

...and down again.

But there was still one more to go: The Grossglockner High Alpine Road. Possibly the most scenic drive on the entire trip with its technicolor hills and wild mountain scenery.

Here's the Grossglockner peak in the background, standing at 3798 metres. The pass finds its highest point at around 2600 metres (but there's a cobblestone ride to a higher summit at some 2750 metres).

After three weeks, we once again faced the ocean between Denmark and Norway. A total of 4500 kms driven without ever feeling stressed out or overly tired. Just miles and miles of endless driving fun. 

A perfect Gran Turismo...

...in a perfect Gran Turismo.