If you’re a gearhead, roads like Highway One, Route 66, and the Great Ocean Road are probably on your bucket list. But when it comes to some of the best mountain roads in particular, you can’t argue with the fact that few places can rival the drama of Switzerland. The landlocked nation certainly has a lot to offer, and for one weekend this past June, a particular ribbon of tarmac offered something most public roads don’t: total exclusivity.
The iconic Furka Pass was closed to the public, but for the SOC Classic, the annual gathering hosted by the highly coveted Supercar Owner’s Circle (SOC), it was wide open and reserved exclusively for a curated convoy of automotive legends that tore through the snowcapped Alpine scenery.
Taking on everything from the ancient cobblestone Tremola to ascending the Gotthard Massif, SOC Classic returned to its spiritual home, Andermatt, for a celebration of cars, craftsmanship, and camaraderie. Held between June 27-29, the event marked the first SOC Classic since the Supercar Owners Circle was acquired by the duPont REGISTRY Group earlier this year. With global expansion on the horizon, the acquisition signals a new era for the ultra-exclusive network of car collectors, all while preserving the invite-only spirit that has defined SOC since its founding in 2014.
While SOC Classic, as the name implies, centers around vintage and classic metal like the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, Porsche 356, air-cooled 911s (including restomods), Alfa Romeos, Lancias, and old-school Ferraris, the mix of cars that showed up this year spanned several eras. Supercars from the 1980s, 90s, and even 2000s. Modern classics, if you will.
Think Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 512, F40, F50, Superamerica, and more. Even more modern-day exotics like the Porsche Carrera GT and a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 were in attendance. Among the standouts was a pristine 1970s 3.0 CSL with the BMW M colors, a motorsport-bred coupe that still draws admiration from old-school purists to young collectors.
But perhaps, the biggest star of the action-packed summer weekend had to be the setting itself: Andermatt. Perched high up in the Swiss Alps, it is the gateway to some of the best roads in the world, including the legendary Furka Pass. Stretching around 20 miles, through the German-speaking Canton of Uri, the Furka Pass peaks at 7,969 feet above sea level and offers dramatic views of glaciers, valleys, switchbacks, and hairpins en route.
Typically only open during the warmer months of the year, June through October, the Pass is closed during the winter due to snow and the risk of avalanche. But besides the visual drama, what sets the Furka Pass apart from other great European drives like the Col de Turnini or Stelvio is the historical mystique. Bond fans among you will know that it was here in 1964 that Sean Connery drove the Aston Martin DB5, in Goldfinger, in a face-off against Tilly Masterson’s Mustang convertible. This cinematic moment put the Furka Pass on the map, and perhaps the only thing that comes close is the opening scenes from the 1969 film The Italian Job, where a vibrant orange Lamborghini Miura takes on the Great St. Bernard Pass in Italy.
As for SOC Classic, many photo ops are dotted throughout out weekend for owners and collectors, including at the Andermatt Swiss House, the Oberalp Pass, the historic Gletscher-Restaurant Belvédère perched beside the Rhone Glacier, and atop the imposing Santa Maria arch dam, one of the tallest in Europe. The event culminated with SOC’s signature Gala dinner at Chedi Andermatt, where the underground garage was transformed for the private SOC event, complete with candle-lit tables, fine wine, and the cars themselves.
It’s almost ironic that Switzerland, a country where motorsport has been banned since the mid-1950s owing to the tragic Le Mans disaster in France, offers no permanent race track. But when nature itself paves the way for some of the most engaging and scenic drives on earth, perhaps no circuit can truly do justice. If this year’s SOC Classic is anything to go by, you can most certainly expect future iterations to be even more special. Stay tuned for our in-depth coverage of the 2025 Edition of SOC Classic on Petrolicious.
Images: @unframed_films @moritzablinger
