We still remember exactly that day in 2011: Between all the press kits that were actually still sent in analogue form at that time, a handy, elegantly laid out magazine with the label Curves slipped out of the daily mail. After a quick flick through, we were as surprised as we were enthusiastic: There wasn't a single car in the whole issue – just a selection of enchanting photographs of deserted alpine roads, accompanied by wonderfully experimental texts that bordered pop journalism and literature.
Over the past ten years, the busy Munich-based product designer, journalist and photographer Stefan Bogner has consistently continued his Curves magazine - and mapped the most beautiful roads in the world with impressive consistency and determination. The focus is not only on the impressive landscapes that can be experienced from the roads, but also on the asphalt strips themselves. ‘Why do we revere the Golden Gate Bridge and include the Rhaetian Railway as a World Heritage, but forget the artistic roads in the Alps?’ Bogner keeps asking. And with his Curves notebooks he bows to the builders and engineers who have given us masterpieces such as the Stelvio Pass, the Susten Pass or the Tremola. The series published by Delius Klasing Verlag comprises of 15 volumes, including the great European road trip classics in the Alps, but also North German coastal roads, Scottish highland routes, jungle slopes in Thailand, Californian highways and country roads in the Portuguese hinterland. This spring the issue of Norway will appear, which promises roads through breathtaking fjord landscapes. There is no end in sight.
In contrast to other publications, Curves succeeds in not aging - but always remaining relevant and offering its readers real added value. Especially in these times of standstill, we keep pulling old issues off the shelf to flick through, to dash through the tarmac serpentines in our minds, to feel the wind on our faces - and to make travel plans for the time after the lockdown. Stefan Bogner is supported by Porsche. And it's a pleasure to watch how the obvious liaison has developed into an authentic and creative partnership that seems to be reaching new heights. In any case, we would be happy if Curves would fill our entire bookshelf - after all, Stefan Bogner has only documented a fraction of the 194 countries worldwide. And in New Zealand, South Korea, Siberia, Patagonia, Abkhazia or Somaliland there are certainly beautiful curves that definitely have to be documented.
If you are also looking for inspiration or you are missing an issue of Curves in your collection: You can easily order all previous issues online in the Classic Driver Shop. In addition to the magazine Curves, Stefan Bogner has also published countless books - together with the author of these lines, for example, the Alpine Pass series “Escapes” and “Porsche Drive” as well as the design book “Porsche Unseen”. You can also find these illustrated books in our shop.
