Austria’s Porsche GP Ice Race is a Wintry Enthusiast Paradise
The 2020 Porsche GP Ice Race had everything from vintage 356s to a modern 991 Speedster sliding around in the ice and snow.
Picture a 510 horsepower, $277,000 2020 Porsche Speedster with its top down sliding sideways around an icy racetrack. Sound surreal? If you were lucky enough to attend the 2020 Porsche GP Ice Race you could have seen it with your own disbelieving eyes. Held in Zel am See, Austria the winter event is now in its second year. The GP Ice Race is similar to events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. It features a mix of vintage and modern cars (in this case mainly Porsches) driven on a closed course. In a way, it’s also similar to Luftgekuhlt, an annual ode to air-cooled Porsches.
Unlike Luftgekuhlt, where the cars are displayed in a static setting, the GP Ice Race features actual racing around a small, ice and snow-covered course. And the GP Ice Race is not limited to air-cooled models. The event features everything from vintage 356 rally cars to models like the current 991 Speedsters and GT3 RS. There were even a handful of non-Porsches in attendance. The video shows a Lancia Stratos and a Fiat rally car in action on the course. The Italian-made Stratos, of course, is one of the most legendary rally cars ever built.
The GP Ice Race is the brainchild of Ferdinand “Ferdi” Porsche and his college friend Vinzenz Greger. The young Porsche family member is the grandson of Porsche founder, Ferdinand Porsche. He’s also a mere 26 years old and is an architect. But the Porsche brand is obviously imprinted in his DNA. “During our time at university, we could never work out why it seemed like so few of our generation were as into motorsport as we were,” Ferdinand says. The GP Ice Race traces its roots back to the 1930s, when Zel am See became a hotbed of ice racing. At one point Ferdinand Porsche had made the Austrian mountain town his family home and later took over the ice racing, entering 356 and 550 Spyder racecars, among other Porsche models. The races were disbanded in 1974 when a Unimog and its driver sank during preparation for the event.
Years later Ferdinand “Ferdi” Porsche took a skiing trip to Zel am See and was inspired to recreate the historic ice racing. The first event was held in 2019 and was more successful than Ferdinand could have hoped for. The second annual event once again exceeded expectations, with about 16,000 attendees. The audience was treated to a wide variety of cars sliding around the course. There were even famous race car drivers performing demonstration runs in the all-new Taycan electric sedan.
“The first time driving for me on ice, so it was an amazing experience,” said Porsche Brand Ambassador and professional racer Jorg Bergmeister, who drove a GT3 RS as well as some other cars around the short but very slippery course. “I tried to follow my own advice, starting slowly and building up, and in the end, I had a lot of fun. It’s an amazing event here. I think everyone should come here and have a look.” Not only is this an amazing event, but where else can you see such a wide array of vintage and modern Porsches being driven on ice?
