Can you imagine taming 333 PS of power and 440 Nm of torque on something like a giant ice skating rink? That was the task on hand at the recent Audi Ice Drive behind the wheel of an S5
Story: Aspi Bhathena
Photography: Audi
My first ice driving was in Arjeplog in February 2008, and I had a great time driving on the ice test-tracks and snow-laden roads. The car I was driving at that time was a 1.6-litre front-wheel-drive car and I was really envious of all the Audi Quattros parked outside my room, which I could see from the window, with ‘Audi Driving Experience’ emblazoned across the doors. At that time I thought to myself what I would not do to get behind the wheel of one of them!
Two years later I was back in Sweden to drive the A4, and another three years later I was back in Arjeplog for my second ice drive stint. Now, seven years later, I was heading to Scandinavia again, to Finland this time, for my third Audi Ice Driving Experience.
We were in the land of Santa Claus in Lapland. The Audi Driving Experience was organised 70 km from Kittila, north of the Polar circle, and the ambient temperature can be anything from minus three to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
The driving course is especially designed by experts from Audi to explore the very limits of their cars. There are multiple test-tracks for the winter testing programme and they have different layouts with different types of corners to test different capabilities of the car. These are laid out on frozen lakes and the snow is compressed in the shape of the circuit. The experience is akin to driving a car on a racetrack with the traction of an ice skating rink.
