An alpine family fiefdom in Austria holds an intriguing allure for petrolheads.

STRAIGHT from a Bond movie?

Unique backdrops with that ‘certain something’ and often the world's most beautiful and hidden locations have always served the 007 films as a location. 

To the producers of 2015’s Spectre, Top Mountain Crosspoint atop the Otztal Alps of Austria, about an hour southwest of Innsbruck, looked exactly right for inclusion, regardless this modernist structure was then still under construction. 

Can you guess why they subsequently gave up and instead settled on filming just down the road, at the neighbouring ski resort of Solden?

In short, the project took longer than expected to complete. Bloody builders!

Such a pity. Perched on the highest section on Austria’s side of a tarmac ribbon snaking over the Otztal Alps and into Italy's South Tyrol, TMC would have added spice to the film.

For sure, the structures that did make the cut – a mountain station made of curved steel ribs and summit restaurant in ice cube design - are probably as cool looking.

Yet bear in mind that special vehicles are just as integral to Bond plots as special places. 

So imagine how the spectacular scenes involving Daniel Craig, Bond girl Lea Seydoux and Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista) might have gone if they’d featured something from the collection that makes this place famous.

Could you picture our hero making a break on, say, a 250cc 1955 NSU Sportmax - one of just 30 built – and the first bike ridden by a privateer to a Grand Prix world championship?

Or perhaps a 1927 Excelsior Super X, a Harley Davidson competitor in its day, this one in board track racing trim?

Hang on, no. Something better than both. A Z15, from Czech firm Jawa, whose grand prix racers were once world-leading for design, no more so than with the twin overhead cam 488cc parallel twin that produced more power than a modern, liquid-cooled and fuel-injected Honda CB500 twin.

They’re all here at Europe’s highest motorbike museum. Yes, you read that right. The pride of the teensy village of Obergurgl is a $30 million development that, in addition to a ski run gondola station and a nice restaurant, houses an astounding motorcycle collection within a modernist building with a 3000 square metre display floor.

When I say astounding, I mean it. Top is literally that, mostly for bike nuts though those into cars also won’t be disappointed. Since opening five years ago, it has drawn in motorcycle aficionados in their thousands.

They come from near and far, enjoying the collection and also the road. The Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road connecting Austria to Italy is consistently rated as the most acclaimed motorcycle touring road in all of Europe.

But only in summer. The ‘A’ part of the name is appropriate. Summitting roughly at two-thirds the height of Aorangi Mt Cook, this route is only useful as a transit route between two countries for a handful of months. Otherwise it becomes a link road to the area’s famous ski resort. 

When the white stuff hits, it’s with a vengeance. All that snow and ice made the snaking climb enough of a challenge with the GLE Coupe I’m driving. As well it should.

That’s why it includes in Mercedes Benz’s cold weather testing programme. And why, in turn, it was chosen for the press launch of a model that will hit New Zealand in the latter part of 2020 (maybe later, now, thanks to Convid-19).

The ultimate activity on our day was to reach the summit to achieve a view of 21 mountains above 3000 metres.

However, it never came to be; a storm front over the preceding 48 hours dropped record snow for the month. Further up the mountain, the road disappeared under an impenetrable white wall comfortably higher than the fastback sports utility. 

So we retreated to the museum, where Mercedes had laid on hot drinks, a technical presentation and an open invitation to spend the spare 90 minutes that had opened in the itinerary looking over the historic bikes on display.

I’m no bike expert – those are my brother’s big love – but I needn’t Michael’s expert eyes to pick out the obvious quality.

The oldest motorbike on display is a 1905 Laurin and Klement; that’s the forebear brand to today’s Skoda. There's a Brough Superior built in 1939 by racer George Brough, a two-cylinder Indian from 1912 and racing legend Giacomo Agostini's MV Augusta.

Brands represented through to the 1980s include Moto Guzzi, Ducati, BMW, Zündapp, Norton, Matchless, Triumph, Superior, Sunbeam, Henderson, Indian and Harley-Davidson, among others.

Then there’s the halftrack motorcycle used by German military forces in World War II, the Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 or Kettenkrad for short (Ketten means "chains" or "tracks") represents in Afrika Korp guise.

The American fare is parked up near an exit door for good reason; while almost all the bikes are operational and ridden, it’s those Harleys and Indians the owners most like to ride from time to time.

Attilia Scheiber and his identical twin brother, Alban, are big names here. And their museum is, in the overall scheme of things, a relatively minor holding within a much grander operation. 

Where we’ve come to is a true mountain-top fiefdom, over which the Schieber family has ruled since … well, a very long time.

For them, this part of the Tyrol has always been a mountain of golden opportunity. White gold.

Evidence suggests the Timmelsjoch Pass has been used since Neolithic times. Local reports place the family having staked a claim to the region in medieval times, if not before. They effectively controlled and engaged in the profitable business of smuggling. Business was good and, as one commentator puts it, “this bold independent streak runs in their blood to this day. 

Since the early 1900s the business focus has increasingly been on sports and tourism and every opportunity is exploited. The massive Hochgurgl ski resort, the ski-in-ski-out Top Mountain Hotel—a five-star property that was named Austria's Best Ski Hotel in the 2019 World Ski Awards - and several restaurants and bars including the vertigo-inducing Top Mountain Star. All theirs. Plus the lift company, the ski school, the ski sports shops, bars and a farm.

There’s no seasonal lull, either. The Pass is open from May to October, the ski resort and hotel from November to April. Due to its elevation, the resort is among the very first in the Alps to open and the very last to close. The museum, of course, is open year round, providing the road is accessible, of course.

Oh yes, about that. In its entirety this runs 33km and climbs 2500 metres above sea level before winding down to the Passeier Valley in Italy's South Tyrol, where the climate is more Mediterranean and the landscape one of vineyards and tiny villages.

Built as a public-private partnership in the early 1960s, it was always a loss-maker for the local Governments either side of the border. When the Austrian administrators finally acknowledged intent to give up on maintaining the most challenging part, the Scheiber’s proposed a solution. As the 12km part ran through their land, why not allow them buy it, with agreement they would keep it operational? So that’s what happened.

A deal done in 2003 makes it the only privately-owned road in Austria. Takings from the toll collection point that used to feed the state now go into the family’s coffers.

In a recent interview, Attila Scheiber explained why it’s all paying off. 

"When it comes to alpine crossings, this road is an undisputed highlight among aficionados.” And in winter? They often come back. “If someone likes motorcycles, they like skiing."

The museum’s dedication to bikes isn’t blind to cars. The brothers attribute their love for motorsport to their late father, who his enthusiasm was more for four wheels, the point where he raced Lotus cars semi-professionally across Europe. One of his old racers is in the museum. So too is a Lotus 23 B, plus some Porsches including a 959 and a spanking Speedster, a Ferrari California Spider and a few bubble cars. Plus some early snowmobiles, ploughs and groomers.

It’s all a bit crazy, but that’s to be expected …. a delightful madness fuels this place and its activities, too.

For instance, every summer there's a local motorbike race which about 30 entrants start from the bottom of the valley and climb to 2590 metres.

Just to add a touch of fun, it’s only open to hand-shifter 1950s-style machines. But apparently helmets must be worn.