Johannes Kaut, the visionary owner of Supercar Travel Ultimate Deluxe ( STUD), combines luxury, speed, and bespoke experiences to craft unforgettable journeys for supercar enthusiasts. In this exclusive interview, we delve into his passion for high-performance vehicles, his insights into luxury travel, and how he brings dreams of the ultimate road adventure to life.

What inspired you to start Supercar Travel Ultimate Deluxe, and how did your journey in the luxury travel and automotive world begin?

In 2015, a friend of mine got married and asked me to plan their honeymoon—a four-week trip to the USA—because he remembered how well I had planned all the trips we’d done together before, and how stress-free everything had been for him. I realized how much I enjoy planning trips, even when they’re not for me. At the wedding, some of their friends asked if I could plan their next trip to the US since they didn’t have the time to do it themselves. Inspired by these experiences, I founded Travel Planner Deluxe in 2016, focusing on bespoke trip planning and luxury travel.

After establishing many connections within the travel industry, I gained access to a special trip offered by a German tour operator. It was a supercar group tour from Barcelona, through the Pyrenees and France, all the way to Monza, Italy. I found clients for this trip, and they enjoyed it immensely. However, being a creative person with many exciting ideas, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great to create my driving tours rather than just selling someone else’s product?” After thoroughly considering everything and coming up with several spectacular tours, I created a new brand: Supercar Travel Ultimate Deluxe (STUD).

What advice would you give someone thinking of combining their passions into a unique business, as you have?

In the early years of starting a business, it’s important to try out a lot of different ideas to see what works and what doesn’t. This way, you also get a better understanding of the field you’re in, as well as the opportunities, challenges, advantages, and disadvantages that come with it. Then, you must draw the right conclusions from these experiences and refine your business accordingly.

Additionally, I highly recommend joining a networking group, where you will meet entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries. This way, you will learn a lot simply by listening to what other successful business owners do, and you will also learn to speak openly about your business in front of an audience. In the long run, you can build your business network, which is key to success.

Whatever you plan to offer through your business, prioritise providing excellent customer service and paying attention to detail so that your clients have the best possible experience and realize they made a good decision in working with you. This way, you’ll turn customers into raving fans who not only become repeat clients but also recommend your business to others.

Could you take us through a typical day for guests on one of your specially designed supercar tours?

Sure. Let’s imagine we are in Merano, Italy. After a restful night’s sleep in their comfortable beds, the guests start their day with a delicious breakfast. They can then choose whether they want to visit the famous thermal spa, in case they haven’t already been there the previous day, or hit the road right after breakfast. If they choose the latter, they’ll drive through South Tyrol, Italy, and then up the switchbacks of the famous Timmelsjoch mountain pass. At the summit, they’ll cross the border into Austria. There, they’ll take in the magnificent view of the snow-capped Alps and the valleys below. They can also visit a motorcycle museum with an impressive collection of two-wheelers and even enjoy some food at the summit restaurant. Afterwards, they’ll continue their drive down into the valley and proceed until they reach a chocolate museum. During an interactive exhibition, the guests can immerse themselves in the sweet world of chocolate, learn more about the bean-to-bar concept, savour lots of high-quality chocolate, and even buy bars and pralines as souvenirs from their trip. After that, they’ll arrive at their next hotel and choose from a variety of restaurant options for dinner. Finally, they can head up to the hotel’s rooftop terrace, which offers a breathtaking view of both the Swiss and Austrian Alps and is the perfect spot to watch a beautiful sunset.

Tell us about your fleet of supercars. How does the rental process work?

For the supercar rentals, STUD collaborates with a company that is one of the leaders in the industry and has an excellent reputation. They have a fleet of several hundred cars, and their motto is: “What you see is what you get.” Clients select a specific car they see in the pictures, not just a model and that exact car is reserved for their trip.

What is also special about the cars—and one of the main reasons for selecting this partner—is that clients don’t have to pick up their cars at a rental station. The car will be delivered to the clients wherever they need it. They can have it delivered directly to the airport, or they can choose to explore the first city of the tour for a few days and have the car delivered to their hotel in time for the driving tour. At the end of the tour, they can leave the car at the hotel, stay longer at the last hotel, and take a taxi to the airport at the end of their trip.

Clients can even choose to drive different cars on different driving days of the trip and rest assured that the next car will be delivered right where they need it.

How do you ensure that each trip offers not only driving excitement but also luxurious experiences for your guests?

By planning the driving routes to lead through exciting locations, we offer our clients the chance to include memorable activities. For example, on one of the tours, our guests can take a helicopter ride to the mountains above Sölden, where they can see the shooting locations of the Bond movie Spectre from a bird’s eye view.

Later, they can enjoy lunch at a gourmet restaurant that used to be the Hoffler Clinic in Spectre. This restaurant is situated more than 3,000 meters above sea level, so while enjoying delicious food on a previous film set, clients also get a spectacular view of the surrounding snow-capped mountain peaks as a bonus. Every trip includes at least one day without any driving, and clients can also add extra days at any location they choose to travel at a slower pace and explore more of the different areas of the tour. They will receive all the information they need in the route booklet to make their time at each destination memorable.

How does STUD stand out in the competitive world of luxury travel experiences?

First of all, it’s the personal touch every client receives. They work directly with me, the mastermind behind all the tours, rather than with a random employee who might be here today and gone tomorrow. I have people who handle other important tasks, such as graphic design, social media, accounting, taxes, and so on, but I enjoy the creative work and interacting with clients the most, so I take care of that personally, and it pays off. A client recently told me something along the lines of, “I could have booked the hotels on the Internet on my own for the tour, but then I wouldn’t have received the great service you provided before and during the tour itself.”

Second, while most of the offered driving tours are group trips with set dates, our tours are self-drive tours. This gives our clients much more flexibility. They have the opportunity to do the trip whenever they have time and even add extra days at any location along the route if they like. Additionally, they can decide with whom they want to travel—whether with their spouse, a small group of friends, or even alone. Everything is possible.

Apart from that, the hotels for each tour are personally vetted to meet the high standards our clients expect, and before a new driving tour is launched, a test drive of the route is conducted to ensure a great driving experience.

Finally, the clients receive a personalized route booklet for their tour, both with printed and digital elements. It includes detailed descriptions of their driving route, pictures, safety tips, restaurant suggestions, recommendations for exciting activities, directions, and more information they need to know to have an unforgettable supercar tour in Europe.

What is the most memorable feedback you’ve received from a client?

Once, a client wrote to me after a tour: “I know how much you care. It shows in everything that you do.” Receiving that note was very touching because it underscores what is at the heart of my day-to-day work: excellent customer service and attention to detail, ensuring that clients have the best experience possible.

Are there any exciting plans or upcoming routes for STUD that you can share with us?

I’ve just finished planning a route that takes guests from Munich, through spectacular mountain roads in Austria, Slovenia, and Italy, all the way to Venice. In addition to scenic roads and breathtaking mountains, our guests will also have the opportunity to visit two exciting cities and spend as much time as they like there, both before and after their driving tour.

Next summer, there will be a test drive of the tour, including site inspections of various hotels, which will also be featured on our Instagram channel. Once everything is meticulously planned and finalized, the tour will be available for the 2026 season. For the years to come, I already have several exciting ideas in mind, so I encourage everyone to follow our Instagram channel and check the website from time to time.

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