Camp4 Canada Puts Porsche Drivers to the Test

Driving in Snow Can Be a Nightmare — Unless You’re Doing it in a Cayman or Carrera at Porsche’s Winter-Driving School

Here’s your chance to not only test-drive a Porsche, but to drive one on ice at the company’s winter-driving school, Camp4 Canada. Located at Montreal’s Mecaglisse racing complex, the annual four- and five-day sessions allow drivers of all levels to improve their driving skills when encountering that miserable slippery white stuff that tends to blanket much of the U.S. this time of year.

In his Forbes magazine review “Porsche Camp4 Improves Sports Car Driving Skills with Slippery Snow And Ice,” automotive analyst Michael Harley attended recent sessions when it was a chilly -1 degree outside. It’s “perfect winter weather to drive a high-performance Porsche sports car on a frozen track,” writes Harley.

Porsche uses three different late-model vehicles at Camp4 Canada: a 718 Cayman S; a 911 Carrera S; and a 911 Carrera 4S. “All are fitted with Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automated gearbox and equipped with studded snow tires — they are a necessity,” adds Harley.

An asphalt track in the summer, the Mecaglisse is flooded, sculpted and grated to become a slick ice surface for Camp4. “Mecaglisse has been configured to provide the school with a skidpad, slalom course and several racing circuits,” writes Harley. “All are most accurately described as ice surfaces with soft snow barriers on each side.” He notes that unlike most other events where an instructor rides in the car (or lead-follows), you are alone in the Porsche with your driving partner — who is also a fellow student.

“The slalom was the most challenging of the drills, as the surface was literally polished ice,” says Harley. “My favorite was driving the 911 Carrera S models, with only rear-wheel drive, on a short drift loop. A heavy foot on the throttle meant a long rooster tail of snow was being continuously ejected from the rear, while the vehicle moved steadfast ahead.”

Sounds like a hot time in the snow. For more information on Porsche’s Camp4 Canada, click here.

Dan Gregory

Dan Gregory is a longtime journalist and editor whose over 20 years of professional experience includes covering the automotive world for Los Angeles' EDGE Magazine before joining the Internet Brands Auto Group team. Dan currently contributes to Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Rennlist, JK Forum and Team Speed, among others

When not covering the auto industry and motorcycle events for the Harley-Davidson enthusiast site H-D Forums, the F-150-driving auto enthusiast can usually be found doing donuts and leaving smoke in local parking lots in the general Iowa area while listening to Slipknot.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.