With ROADS by Porsche, you can create your perfect road trip. The creator of the app, Marco Brinkmann, shares his top tips and ideas
Whether it's the long days of summer or the need to get out of the house on a crisp winter's day, you can't beat a road trip – but what are the best routes? For that, a spot of local knowledge is important. It’s why the ROADS by Porsche app was created. Whether you’re travelling solo, with your family or group of friends, ROADS by Porsche can help you can create a stunning journey in a single click. You can check out routes from other community members of this free app and share your own adventures. It’s a great way to both inspire and simplify your road trip planning.Marco Brinkmann is the creator of the ROADS by Porsche app. Even though he has a busy lifestyle, Marco says he always finds time to jump in his Porsche 944 and head out on a drive. “To me, going on a road trip is purely about driving, with no particular destination in mind. It’s about spending time on the road and enjoying the moment,” says Marco.Selecting the right route – whether long or short – is obviously the most important component of the trip. But there are plenty more things to consider – like an appropriate music playlist for the trip or who to choose as your co-driver. Here Marco tells us about his personal key ingredients for a successful road trip.“There’s no point in driving a beautiful car if you don’t know where to take it,” says Marco Brinkmann, creator of the ROADS by Porsche appWhat makes a perfect road trip, Marco?“First and foremost, it’s the conscious decision to go out and drive. It’s the one major thing that makes a road trip different from any other kind of leisure activity or vacation. No matter whether done on your own or together with friends, spending your precious spare time behind the wheel is a powerful statement – to explore the world and discover new places in a way unlike any other. To me, this statement is the most important aspect of it all.“The second vital element of a perfect road trip is the car. The entire ROADS app is designed for people that are passionate about driving and very much in love with their cars. This can be a Porsche, but it does not necessarily need to be a Porsche. As long as you love it, you can benefit from the ROADS.“We have well over half a million routes on the ROADS app already,” says Marco“The third most important factor is knowing where to take your car. No matter where you live in the world, there are many interesting options out there. But finding and selecting these routes can be very time consuming. You have to do your research, read blogs, ask friends, etc. However, knowing where to go is key because, let’s face it, you can have the greatest car in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t know where to take it. This is why we have developed ROADS.“And of course, you also need some ‘soft ingredients’. By that I mean people that you enjoy hanging out with – and good music. I am now in the process of recording actual mixtapes for the period correct radio in my car. No CDs, no MP3s, no streaming. It’s very old school and I absolutely love it. Having the right music is key.”With ROADS by Porsche, it’s easy to connect with like-minded drivers in your area or even worldwideHow do you discover great routes for road trips when using ROADS by Porsche?“At its core, the ROADS app is a generator for beautiful routes. Unlike other solutions, ROADS does not aim for the fastest or shortest option between A and B. Instead, it offers the most scenic route between start and destination – and up to 20 waypoints in between. All of this is wrapped in a beautiful, easy to use interface that is available as a free download on the App Store. Generating a route only takes a couple of seconds. It works in front of your doorstep and almost anywhere in the world. Try it out – you may discover places in your neighbourhood that you have not driven before.”What are your favourite ROADS by Porsche features?“There are so many cool things on the app and we add new ones every other week. We have recently introduced the what we call the ‘Pass-By’ feature. The idea for this was actually suggested by a member of the ROADS community. Here is the challenge: when you design your drive, you may want to head into a specific direction, but without having to drive into the centre of a city, for example. With ‘Pass-By’, this can be done with a single click. It is one of the personalisation options that we offer inside the app.Want to take the scenic route rather than the fastest for your road trip? The ROADS by Porsche app is purpose designed to help you achieve thatHow do drivers share their road trips and routes with their friends or the international ROADS community?“ROADS can be used just for yourself or together with its community of passionate drivers. The route owner decides on the desired level of privacy. Thanks to our comprehensive sharing options, it is possible to publish drives for the entire global ROADS community or with people and groups of your choice. Sharing of navigational routes has never been easier.”ROADS by Porsche is currently available for iOS devices. An Android version will be available soon.
