Ice Ollie

As some readers may know towards the end of last year, I managed to reach the ripe old age of 40, I am still surprised I got here too. As a very very generous present from my ever thoughtful other half, I was surprised with a trip of a lifetime. The expedition involved getting myself up to Finland for some Ice Driving hosted by Porsche in the arctic circle. The cars we were using were the very latest 991 Generation 2 Carrera 4S and Carrera 2S’s, which I had spent little time in before the event. I came away with a whole new appreciation of what Porsche have done with their latest 911, every aspect was flawless and I was even surprised to understand how little turbo lag these cars have – it’s pretty much non-existent.

The course was spread over 4 days and comprised of the basics of ice driving, covering corner entry, throttle and steering input and positioning and corner exit. The principle sounding very simple, the reality being exceptionally tricky to master. The 4S models flattered us all and led us into a false sense of security, as when we were taken onto the Rear wheel drive Carrera 2S I spent more time pirouetting rather than gracefully sliding as I imagined. Two highlights for me were driving a 4S on full ice tyres complete with spikes and then being a passenger with a Porsche driver in a Panamera across the ice. His skill in such a large car with four passengers was exceptional if not slightly humbling.

Although I am led to believe the courses are very expensive, I would without hesitation do it all again. The way in which Porsche manage everything from start to finish really is the icing on the cake, nothing is too much trouble and you are treated like royalty. I’m now looking to potentially book the second level course…wish me luck!

Written by Ollie Preston