Adventure takes many forms, from climbing mountains to crossing continents to the limits of adhesion through a mountain chicane. On Expedition Portal, we have covered all manner of human and vehicular exploration, which now includes the thrill of grand touring.
Grand touring originated from the Italian phrase Gran Turismo, which was subsequently abbreviated to the ubiquitous GT. In the same way that going car camping does not translate to overlanding, driving a sports car for a spirited Sunday morning does not equate to grand touring.
Historically, the Grand Tour reflected the traditional travels around Europe. From the 16th century until the advent of rail, Europeans of means would undertake the ultimate in-person history lesson, experiencing cultures, art, education, and cuisine while looping through the continent. The Grand Tour is the Hero’s Tale, a journey of discovery, learning, and overcoming whatever challenge the experience presents. These journeys have been chronicled in classics like Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain or William Thomas Beckford’s (much embellished) “Letter Home” abridged as Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents.
The capable yet daily drivable 2024 Nissan Z
The first car to wear the Gran Turismo badge was the 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750, which went on to win its class at the 1931 Mille Miglia. Many others would follow, including numerous attempts at appropriating the term by adding aluminum wheels and a stick-on trunk spoiler to a passenger sedan. Intrinsically, a GT car is capable of transporting two occupants and their luggage across a continent- quickly.
Definitions:
Grand Tour (historic) = A cultural and educational trip through Europe.
Grand Touring = Typically a journey using a 2+2 GT car that balances the attributes of performance, comfort, and luxury.
Overlanding = Vehicle-based adventure travel.
Nothing inspires all-road travel like a Subaru WRX
Much like overlanding does not require camping or even 4wd to overland the world, Grand Touring does not demand the use of a GT car. Indeed, the spirit of the term is a high-performance coupe or sedan with a 2+2 configuration, a powerful motor, and a chassis designed for the optimal balance of handling and comfort. The car should accommodate luggage for two and, even more ideally, would be able to handle a wide range of road surfaces and weather events (think AWD). When combined, the vehicle inspires the joys of driving.
Why feature Grand Touring on Expedition Portal? Most candidly, we enjoy travel and vehicles, but also because GT is another way to see the world and experience its cultures, cuisine, architecture, and art from a unique perspective. Throughout our travels around the globe, we have taken equal pleasure from stunning paved sojourns as we have from remote backcountry exploration. I can still remember the squeal of the tires from the Suzuki Jimny as I pressed its limits through the decreasing radius turns of the Transfăgărășan in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, or the sway of the 70 Series Land Cruiser as we worked the V8 diesel through the Urals of Russia. Yes, we love the dirt, but few things bring as broad a smile as the precise clip of the apex.
The Nissan Z on Highway 89, one of Arizona’s great driving roads
So look for regular features from Matt Scott and myself (along with a few others) on driving beautiful routes in GT cars and performance SUVs. Content will begin with our recent journeys in the Subaru WRX, Nissan Z, and Mercedes EQS. Matt Scott will have a strong voice on the subject, reflecting his decades of owning sports cars and GTs and his active racing experience. We look forward to sharing our thrill of the journey.
If you’d like to join the conversation and share your own Grand Touring journeys, log into the Expedition Portal Forums and drop your adventures into the new Grand Touring Forum under the “Expedition and Adventure” category. Expedition Portal’s own Christian Pelletier kicks us off with a UK romp in a C-Class Benz.
Podcast:
There are even EVs that have proven to be good grand tourers, like the Mercedes EQS
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