The baptism of fire: 300 kilometers of pure dino bliss!

Actually, this restoration blog is supposed to be strictly chronological. I just reported to you about the bodywork – a phase that, to be honest, was three years ago. But today I simply have to break the protocol. I can't help it, because current events have just overtaken the past at full speed. You've probably already seen in the post about the Classic Gala Schwetzingen that my Dino is finished, and now he has passed his very first real baptism of fire with flying colors!

After the car had been back in the workshop to iron out the inevitable small paint defects from the restoration phase, the time finally came two days ago: I picked up the Dino in Büdingen. And instead of putting it on a trailer, it was time for: driving home under its own power!

Up until now, the car had barely seen more than the mandatory 5 kilometers around the garage after the rebuild. Now, suddenly, 300 kilometers in one go were on the agenda. The result? An absolutely fantastic road trip!

In perfect sunshine and under a bright blue sky, I drove the whole way with the top down through the countryside. The route took me past the Main river, along the beautiful Tauber, and finally all the way home, south of Stuttgart.

Anyone who has ever restored a classic car from the ground up knows the quiet tremor in the back of their mind during those first few kilometers. But the Dino ran like clockwork:

It was incredibly fun to see that the years of work, sweat, and patience were worth it exactly for these moments. The car proved that it not only looks beautiful but is absolutely capable of long distances.

Does this mean the project is completely finished? Not quite. A few finishing touches are of course still pending over the winter – after all, a classic car is never completely finished. But the best part is: I’m no longer under any pressure. I can tackle and prepare these little things in peace before the 2027 season starts.

Here on the blog, we will of course return to the chronological order of the restoration starting with the next post. There are still plenty of exciting details and intermediate steps to talk about that happened before this big day.

And so you can see what I’m raving about, I have included some impressions here directly from the road – look at those lines in the sunshine :-)