KMII, a seasoned contributor to WatchProSite's automotive forum, shares a captivating report on his recent drive through the historic Ljubelj / Loiblpass. This article highlights KMII's exploration of the E652 / B91 route, offering a detailed comparison between the Slovenian and Austrian sections of this iconic mountain pass. His personal account provides valuable insights into a route that, while less traveled today due to modern tunnels, still offers a unique driving experience for enthusiasts.
Have not posted a mountain pass report for months now, so it was time to have a go at one again. As neither my place of work nor our new home are quite amenable to that as naturally as the previous location was, I jumped at the opportunity that presented itself from a change in route recently, that allowed for this small but oh so fun detour.
People driving from Ljubljana to Austria will now largely take the Karawankentunnel, a significant shortening and easing of the crossing of the Alps between the two countries. I vaguely remember crossing the old pass sometime in the early 1980s, before the tunnel was built and as I was alone in the car and had sufficient time I decided to go explore the older, traditional route across. Especially since Richard Habring highly recommended it, too ๐
The E652 on the Slovenian side is rather on the nice than spectacular side. The best bits have unfortunately been replaced by a small tunnel on top, which prevents you from the final switchback ascent of old. Should I have time next spring I will definitely explore the possibility of trying the old road, should it still be open and passable.
Even though it doesnโt feel like a pass type road on the Slovenian side (transit efficiency probably having prevailed over driving pleasure when it was designed), it still makes for decent B-road driving, especially since itโs reasonably empty and allows for good opportunities to quickly dispatch slower traffic due to frequently peppered in straights with good sight lines.
And after the two switchbacks at the very top (the current, tunnel variety) you get to the traditional signs of border crossings, namely the remnants of the Kompas Duty Free, the chain that used to define border crossings for us for decades. They seemingly still operate (in a non-duty free capacity) but I think the last time I was in one was over 25 years ago ๐๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
As soon as you pass the Austrian border post, the fun proper begins. The B91 seems to have had an altogether different design brief (or maybe itโs just the topography that made it more difficult to design a straighter road). From a driving enthusiastโs perspective a much more alluring one ๐๐
And off the roller coaster of the three dimensional topsy turvy section goes, right from the border crossing.
The one advantage to be mentioned here is that the road largely has the regular Austrian B-road speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph). The way the road is build you would probably have to equal Ari Vatanen and have a very special car to have any chance of ever exceeding the limit ๐
The road is a series of switchbacks, with peppered in somewhat faster sinuous sections (faster in the sense that 50mph already feels that youโre really shifting) and I can imagine Nicoโs Alpine of Markusโs (MCG) Smart Coupe would be right at home here, being smaller and narrower, hence having more space on the road.
The road is not unduly narrow, as trucks had to occasionally pass here 40 or so years ago but I dread to think encountering trucks nowadays ๐ Overtaking would be practically impossible, too. There is a short overtaking stretch (two lanes) for ascending traffic close to the border crossing but none for the descending.
Just when I thought the short and sweet pleasure was over, the road takes a turn upwards, for another goโฆ
Sadly at this point some traffic was encountered, slowing the speed. The autumn countryside and the appreciation of the fun road continued, though. If you let the traffic get ahead a bit more fun corners could be strung together but sadly one always caught up with them sooner than hoped for ๐๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
The switchbacks on the road are also of a nice, wide variety and with an RWD car of old you could probably wonderfully slide through them, the space being there to make it fun rather than manic. Sadly the current car was not game for thatโฆ
The โuse snow chains in winterโ sign is a reminder that this is a mountain pass, even if in the grand scheme of things one of the low ones in Europe.
So overall a relatively short but highly enjoyable stretch of road. The design will probably let you enjoy it in most cars, although smaller / narrower ones will have a slight advantage. As overtaking is not really on the cards (or at least not in something not imbued with both monster power and limpet like grip), neither the bhp nor the tire size will per se determine how much fun you have. So a source of democratic automotive pleasure, all to be had within the (for this case very generous) legal speed limits ๐
And who can say no to a road that on the map starts out like this ๐
So if you ever find yourself in the region, itโs one of those fun little gems to be enjoyed - especially since most traffic will be elsewhere, traversing the much less exciting tunnel lower down.
Some hours later I drove through the first snowfall of the season, unfortunately it was fully dark by then, so no pictures ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
Hope you enjoyed the ride ๐๐ป
