Every once in a while we experience something that is true
bucket list stuff. We joined Porsche in Lapland for a day on snow and ice and
this earned a spot on the GTspirit Bucket List! Let me tell and show you what
went down.
Every year major car manufacturers and private companies
build camps in the European Arctic for winter testing and driving experiences.
Porsche is no exception and for a few years now they travel to the Finnish town
of Levi where they host the Porsche Winter Driving Experience.
Levi is a popular Finnish winter destination and ski resort.
The slopes not comparable to the Alps but enough for a few days of fun. From
Kittila Airport it takes only 15 minutes to reach Levi and another 20 minutes
to reach the Porsche Driving Experience camp. The last time we were in Levi was
8 years ago and the town has grown quite a bit. We stayed at the new Panorama
hotel directly on the slopes of the ski resort with stunning views of the
surrounding forests, mountains and lakes.
But enough about Levi, we are here to drift Porsches on ice!
The Porsche Driving Experience is spread out over a huge area in the Finnish
forests. Unlike many other ice driving events in the Arctic, Porsches tracks
are not build on a frozen lake or river but on a sort of swamp land sprayed
with water. This makes that the frozen race tracks over slight height
differences and camber, something you won’t have on a lake.
Upon arrival we realize how huge the area is, over 20
different ice tracks, drift circles and slalom courses are dotted around the
area. Separated in a North and South area Porsche can accommodate up to 100
people per day. We arrive at a garage where 50 Porsche 911 Turbo S and Cayman
GTS models are waiting for us.
Porsche offers four different multiple-day driving events in
Levi. Starting with Camp4 which is all about precision; learning how the car
behaves on snow and ice and how to stay in control while having fun. The next
level is Camp4S which is more about performance. Assuming you know the basics
about driving on snow and ice Camp4S shows how to handle the car on its limit.
Both Camp4 and Camp4S participants drive with the Porsche 911 Carrera S with
spikes.
The next level is Porsche Ice-Force. Here participants learn
to control a Porsche 911 Turbo by braking and accelerating. A combination of
theory and driving on various handling tracks gives deeper insights in advanced
vehicle control. Than finally there is Porsche Ice-ForceS where experienced
drivers can raise their limits with the Porsche 911 Turbo, GT3 and other
vehicles. In a mix of all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles the driver
is challenged to find the perfect line across the various handling tracks. All
programs include three days of instruction and driving.
Today we take part in a special program based on Porsche
Ice-Force(S). I receive the keys for a 560hp 911 Turbo S with 4mm spikes and
snow tires. This all-wheel drive monster comes with Porsches PDK gearbox and
Sport Chrono Package. We are guided to another part of the camp which will
serve as base for our day there. After a small program and safety briefing the
group is split in smaller groups and our instructor Yukka takes us to the first
course.
Due to the weight balance of the AWD rear-engine Porsche 911
Turbo a different technique is required to drift it and the first exercise
couldn’t be a better start to learn this: slalom on ice. Accelerating off the
line we are required to steer in for the first corner, tap the brakes briefly
to shift the weight to the outside and accelerate to drift. Approaching the
next corner, counter steer quickly and tap the brakes again to swing the back
around to the other side. It soon feels like an automotive dance as we swing
from side to side around the cones.
The cones were quite close to each other so our first
exercise was fairly low speed but the second course would all change that. We
are taken to a large circle to practice our drift consistency. The drift circle
is a great place to see the all-wheel drive system in action. In comparison to
a rear-wheel drive car it is a bit harder to drift but once you have it going
you can reduce your steering inputs to the minimum and almost keep the wheels
straight. Balancing the drift is entirely done by the throttle, more throttle
makes the circle wider, less throttle makes the circle smaller. Being gentle on
the throttle and steering is rewarded with a smooth never-ending drift.
But enough with the exercise, time for the real action! We
head back to the base and swap our 911 Turbo S for a rear-wheel drive Cayman
GTS. To give the Cayman a bit more grip it has 5mm spikes instead of 4. We head
out to a little track on the far end of the camp. Every track has a little
paddock where you can stop and change drivers and every track also has a
Cayenne on stand-by to pull any cars out of the snow besides the track.
The Porsche Cayman GTS is fundamentally different on snow
and ice than the all-wheel drive 911 Turbo. It is much easier to get a drift
going but it is harder work to stay in control. One little mistake and you soon
find yourself with the nose pointing in the wrong direction. In my third lap I
got a bit carried away and after drifting through three nice S-corner
combinations I clearly over did it and found myself stuck in the snow wall for
the first and luckily last time this day.
Adjacent to our Cayman GTS track was another track with a
little surprise for us. This track called the GT3 Cup track had a Porsche GT3
Cup and Porsche 918 Spyder on spikes waiting for us. Seeing the 918 Spyder
there on snow and ice was a surreal sight. With its low ride height and wing
extended up it looked like it was ready to eat the ice.
We had a few laps with both cars on the ice and although you
will rarely top 100 km/h on the ice and don’t have the same forces as on a
regular race track, it was a sensational experience that we will remember for
quite some time. The 918 Spyder interior is so futuristic and not reminiscent
of anything else in the Porsche line-up, we hope some of its styling clues will
soon make its way in other Porsche models.
We drove back to base with the 918 Spyder and took a short
break for lunch. After lunch the 918 Spyder was available for a few photos and
after that we had to return to our ‘normal’ program. The next chapter in our
Porsche Finland story was the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Warned about the car’s
weight and poor drift capabilities, we weren’t sure what to expect. But as soon
as we left the paddock and turned in to drift around the first corner we knew
this is going to be fun!
The Cayenne is by far the hardest Porsche we have been
trying to drift in Finland. You really have to trick it into a drift. Before
setting out on the icy tracks we always switched to Sport Plus mode and
disabled ESP. In the Cayman and the Turbo we switched back to the soft
suspension setting to make the car a bit more forgiving. In the Cayenne however
we chose to keep the suspension in sport to reduce body roll.
With the Cayman and the 911 Turbo I tried to drift as clean
as possible as going off the cleared track did not only bring a high risk of
getting stuck but also of damaging the car. In the Cayenne however it was not a
problem to let the back wheel slide through the snow bank a little bit on the
outside corner and keeping my foot on the power meant the Cayenne would get out
of most tricky situations just fine. Lap after lap I drifted the Cayenne from
corner to corner with a big smile on my face. My co-driver at one point had the
window open to let some fresh air in, he regretted it a while later when one of
my drifts saw a load of snow fly in through the open window and end right in
his face.
For our last sessions of the day we returned to the majestic
Turbo S. With plenty of practice behind us our last track was a combination of
two smaller tracks with wide long sweeping corners ideal for long drifts.
Coming from the Cayenne, the Turbo was easy to drift. On this track cones
helped initiate the perfect Scandinavian flick around three tighter corners.
Along with two dedicated instructors it was just one of the examples where the
Porsche Driving Experience is not just about fun but also helps improve your
driving skill.
As we drove back to the garage in a convoy of Porsche 911
Turbos, the Finnish sky glowing in the light of dawn it hit me; words fail to
describe it but this is something every car enthusiast should have on his
bucket list!
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