It's winter, it's cold, and at the weekend that meant one thing: time for the F.A.T. Ice Race in Zell am See. The festival for hot engines on icy ground is something of a motorsport spectacle and has a unique atmosphere: this weekend the Austrian air was crisp, the tension was palpable, and the racing sounds resonated throughout the snowy valley. In the background, the impressive mountain landscape surrounding Zell am See, with its ski resorts and the nearby Großglockner, provided a stunning backdrop.
The F.A.T. Ice Race is not just a motorsport event steeped in tradition, celebrating incredible performance, racing and a fun competition for every split second on the ice. It is also a cultural festival full of lifestyle and fashion and a showcase of the global automotive community. It’s here that historic and modern motorsport meet, merging as they do with contemporary spirit. It’s a gathering for motorsport fans of all ages and a stage for the social media generation – indeed, tradition has rarely seemed so youthful.
When Ferdinand ‘Ferdi’ Porsche revived the legendary Ice Race in 2019, a spectacular event was added to the Porsche community’s calendar. The aim was to establish a racing event for the new generation, demonstrating how lively, energetic and diverse a younger audience could be when engaging with tradition.
Making tradition tangible at the Ice Race
A key tenet was that it would be open and accessible to private motorsport enthusiasts – and, crucially, that it would feel authentic. "It's not about the last second, about victory, but about the cultural asset of the car," says Ferdi Porsche. “It's about mountains, vehicles, technical aesthetics, nature, people, and the collective ambiance, the energy that the community celebrates.”
Last weekend, the F.A.T. Ice Race took place for the fifth time in Zell am See, with about 5,500 visitors enthusiastically following the races across various classes as well as the centerpiece of the event: skijoring. The diverse lineup featured interesting, beautiful, historically valuable and often just thoroughly cool cars.
Porsche Taycan: Top performance on snow and ice
‘Hot on Ice’ was the call for the Taycan, with the electric Porsche showing just how capable it is during taxi rides on the snowy track. The sports car’s electric architecture and two motors allow for active torque distribution across the axles.
“The advantage offered by the two completely independently controllable motors on the axles is absolutely priceless. It’s like having four accelerator pedals,” says the professional pilot. “We could confidently navigate some extreme drifting angles in the Taycan.”
Rolling museum: Porsche heritage in action
The Porsche Museum also dazzled with treasures from its collection creating spectacular drifts. Among those at the wheel were Ferdinand and Felix Porsche, brand ambassador Timo Bernhard, racing driver Richard Lietz and the ski legend Aksel Lund Svindal.
Brand ambassador Timo Bernhard piloted the Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 4x4 Paris-Dakar (953) that won the Paris Dakar Rally in 1984 with René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne. With the car more usually found thriving on sand, Timo impressed the crowd with his fast rounds on ice, equipped with a set of spikes. "A fabulous event. You can feel that everyone here has the Porsche brand in their hearts. There are lots of like-minded people here and you experience an incredible amount of positive energy."
A very special model on display was the Porsche 911 GT3 Rallye, developed by Porsche in 2004 for the Gran Turismo class of the national rally championship organised by the Royal Belgian Automobile Club. Two-time rally world champion Walter Röhrl and former Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul put together a rally kit for the all-terrain 911. Richard Lietz demonstrated what this development is still capable of today.
The Porsche Museum also sent along the Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar, which Metge and Lemoyne drove to victory in the 14,000-kilometre rally from Paris to West Africa in 1986, when they finished ahead of Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur in another 959. The third 959 that entered that race – a car that acted as a ‘flying service vehicle’ driven by project leader Roland Kussmaul and his colleague Wolf-Hendrik Unger – took sixth place.
A Le Mans feeling on snow and ice
A hint of Le Mans also wafted through the Salzburg region last weekend, thanks to an appearance by the 962 Dauer Le Mans GT, which won Porsche its 13th overall victory at the 24-hour race in 1994. The three-litre twin-turbo engine of the 962 C was modified in Weissach and catapulted the 962 Dauer Le Mans GT from a standstill to 200 km/h in 7.3 seconds. Three chassis were built as racing cars, of which two made the journey to La Sarthe.
The Porsche 550 Spyder Panamericana was also in Zell am See at the weekend. In the final Carrera Panamericana in 1954, two Porsche 550 Spyders made headlines as drivers Hans Herrmann and Jaroslav Juhan battled over the entire distance of 3,077 km. Herrmann beat Juhan after five days with a lead of just 36 seconds. The Porsches surpassed several more powerful vehicles, finishing third and fourth overall and winning their class.
So much history in a fascinating setting: Ferdinand Porsche, who spent his winter and summer holidays in Zell am See in his youth, has given the region a magnificent motorsport event with the F.A.T. Ice Race. "We always wanted to do something for the next generation. That's how we started," explains Ferdinand Porsche. "Today we saw more than 5,000 car enthusiasts here in good spirits, having fun and in an unbelievably good mood. Our motto this year was 'Fun over Speed'. And that's the atmosphere here. Everyone enjoys the time here at the F.A.T. Ice Race."
