Yahoo Finance A Gunther Werks Speedster on California's Angeles Forest West Loop Is Driving Nirvana
Most people, when they come to Southern California, want to drive “the canyons.” They think of the famous ones around Malibu. But the western edge of the Angeles National Forest is vastly better. Malibu is double-A ball; this is the big leagues.
When people talk about driving in the Angeles National Forest, they mean the legendary Angeles Crest Highway and its offshoots. I know every inch of this route, having driven it thousands of times in hundreds of cars, fast and slow, good and bad. I use the north and east routes to test certain attributes of specific vehicles, but if I’m out for a fun drive in one of my own cars, it’s almost always the western route. And it’s usually on Friday mornings, starting with the Good Vibes Breakfast Club, a weekly car meet for creatives at Newcomb’s Ranch, near the Chilao Visitor Center.
If I had one drive left before dying, I’d come here with Gearhead God’s war hammer: SoCal’s own Gunther Werks Speedster. Beyond every other Porsche, a Gunther Speedster is the final boss—ludicrously fast, impossibly light, and with more fizz than a shaken and sabered bottle of Cristal.
Some people like to drive up Angeles Crest Highway the whole way, 27 miles to Newcomb’s Ranch. Sure, do that. But it isn’t how I go, and my way is better. I start in Sunland-Tujunga and grab two coffee travelers from Starbucks because, for the time being, Newcomb’s Ranch itself is closed, so everybody packs in and packs out, and I like to contribute. With the travelers nestled in the Speedster’s passenger’s-side drilled-aluminum footwell, I pray for no spillage on the impossibly supple orange leather.
A.
Big Tujunga Canyon Road climbs up the side of a deep valley with steep hills on either side. There is a little village at the bottom of the canyon to the south of the road, with, strangely, a massive Porsche tuner and race shop. The road has big and fast open third- and fourth-gear sweepers up this part of the hill. The tarmac is smooth and sticky.
B.
A paved turnout makes Big Tujunga Dam Overlook a great place to stop and photograph your car or meet up with friends. Be careful between 7 and 9 a.m. on weekdays, as frustrated commuters from Palmdale regularly execute sketchy double-yellow passes here.
C.
Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road is one of the best drives in the canyons—fast, flowing, remote, and nearly always empty. This section is perfect for cars with 400 to 600 hp. It has third-, fourth-, and fifth-gear corners, as well as negative-g crests and straightaways with good visibility.
D.
“Ice Cold” is a one-mile section of highway that’s always in shadow during the winter. It’s consistently 20 degrees colder than the surrounding area. Ice and snow are common here.
I start by heading northeast on Big Tujunga Canyon Road, a stunning, winding pass up an alpine-like valley (it’s more beautiful coming down, so focus on the road on the way up). Repaved last year, it features some of the best tarmac in the forest, so set the shocks to Sport. The Speedster has plenty of revs, and almost the entire road is taken in third and fourth gear. I can stop at the Big Tujunga Dam Overlook to get some photos of the car or keep heading uphill, turning left onto Angeles Forest Highway, where it gets even prettier somehow.
Though this section isn’t long, it goes up, down, and then up again, with an awesome switchback leading to a stunning bridge-crossing and culminating in a tunnel. In that tube, rev the naturally aspirated six to redline in third before stomping the massive brakes to avoid overcooking the corner at the exit. The Gunther Speedster has no roof or windows, so the experience in the tunnel borders on sonic overload.
After the fire station, I turn right onto Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road, known to locals as “Nine-Mile,” in reference to its length, or UBT for short. UBT is the best filming road in the Angeles Forest. “Flowing” only begins to describe it. Commuters do not use it, so it’s dead empty for hours at a time. It is so lonely that parking a car diagonally across both lanes for a photo is wholly reasonable. The big-horsepower stuff shines here, and local knowledge goes a long way, so only drive what you can see. I can get the Speedster into fifth in a few places, but there are no second-gear corners.
UBT dead-ends at Angeles Crest Highway, high enough on the mountain that, by now, all the commuters have been weeded out, and it’s only sports cars, sport bikes, and the occasional hiker or camper heading to Chilao. This upper section of the Crest is all above 5000 feet and features stunning vistas, particularly in the morning when clouds settle below the peaks, making them look like islands in a vast, silky sea. And yet, it’s not even 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
The mile of highway immediately east of the UBT intersection is shaded nearly all day in winter and, as such, can be much colder than the surrounding roads. Ice is a risk, even on warm days. The scenic byway opens into a fast chicane as it turns north for the final seven-mile blast to Newcomb’s Ranch. If it is a Friday morning, have a coffee and a chat, and let everyone lust over the Gunther. In a sea of Porsches, this is King Dick, unless Bruce Meyer shows up in his Ruf Yellow Bird.
After socializing, double back south on Angeles Crest Highway for 17 miles, almost nine miles beyond the UBT intersection. It runs past the Mount Wilson Observatory (whose Cosmic Cafe has great views and java refills) and the legendary “Car-Mag Corner,” where nearly every car magazine, R&T included, sets up for sunset shots. Below that is the tightest section of the drive, down a literal wall. It’s second gear in the Gunther but an opportunity to appreciate that the Speedster likely has the hardest turn-in of any of the 993s, with its 295-section front tires.
Then there’s a choice: Turn right at Angeles Forest Highway to complete the loop and run Big Tujunga Canyon down (my personal passion), or continue straight onto Angeles Crest Highway. Both eventually lead back to the freeway. But trust me, the spectacular vistas off the side of the Angeles Forest Highway on the way down, followed by big speeds and dynamic scene changes while engine-braking down Big Tujunga Canyon back to civilization, make this the way to go.
God created the mountains, but the roads make them sing. The Gunther ensures perfect pitch.
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