“I sold my car to buy a Panda and drive around Europe”

Stefano Bortolozzo is 23 years old, he lives in Olgiate Olona and he is like many other young people, who bought a car with their first salary. It was a normal car, but like so many, he dreamed of owning another one. A Ferrari, maybe? Or a Lamborghini? Or a Tesla? Not at all: he dreamed of driving a Panda. And his dream eventually came true.

“I’d always wanted one; in November I found a good deal, and I made up my mind: I sold my other car, and bought it,” he said. This is how his life intersected with that of the Panda, a 1999 emerald green “Young”, with 107,000 km on the clock. Now, the milometer already shows 115,000 km, because “I love to go on car journeys, so I set off immediately.”

So, December saw his first undertaking, to drive his Panda to the Black Forest, in Germany. “Everybody said I wouldn’t make it, that I’d never reach my destination in this car.” In the end, Stefano and his Panda travelled all of the 1700 km, and made it back home, safe and sound. Of course, there were a few inconveniences, “like when the heating broke down and I drove the whole journey in the cold, even at -17°C,” but there was also a lot of satisfaction, “like watching all of the oversized cars at the roadside putting on snow chains, while I drove slowly past.” After that journey, Stefano understood that, “despite being quite old, my Panda could do even longer journeys.” The next destination was Spain: a round trip of 4000 km, in the last few weeks.

This is a very unusual way of travelling. “You drive at no more than 90km/h, everyone overtakes you, which is a little frustrating. But, if you drive slowly, you can enjoy the scenery more, cover shorter distances and discover new places.” Sure, when you drive across countries and borders in a Panda, you raise a few eyebrows, and Stefano knows this well. “In Germany, I was stopped and searched three times, and in Spain, five times, but each search ended with a friendly laugh.”

Now Stefano is ready for another, even more ambitious challenge. “This summer, I want to drive to North Cape, a round trip of 8000 km.”