Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Call 911, it’s getting icy

Driving the Porsche 911 Dakar edition is a good lesson on how the Scandinavians have perfected the art of driving on ice

It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, an important checkmark on my bucket list. But as it turned out, it became a twice-in-a-month occurrence. Hardly had I returned from an unforgettable couple of days driving on ice in the Audi RS4, that I found myself back on the same Finnair flight to Kittilä within a month. It’s a good reminder of the perks of having the best job in the world. What made it truly special this time around, is that I was invited by Porsche. The prospect of driving the iconic 911 safely on an icy track was just too good to pass up, especially since I would be driving the Dakar edition of the 911.

With its 480hp, 3.0-litre twin turbo engine, the Dakar edition of the Porsche 911 drives perfectly well on slippery surfaces.

I’ve always wanted to drive the Dakar, because in the Indian context, it’s the perfect 911. Why? Simply because it’s got the ground clearance of an SUV, so you can take it on roads and places you wouldn’t dare in a standard 911

My first driving session around a simple oval track is to familiarise myself with how the Dakar feels at the limit on ice. And that means uncorking the its 480hp 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six on a surface more slippery than a banana peel.

The 911 demands a high level of precision from the driver.

But with as with any 911, the sting is in the tail. The rear-engine configuration presents a unique set of challenges. Unlike the front-engine RS4, I drove a month before, the 911 demands a high level of precision from the driver. It gives you a nuanced understanding of weight transfer and teaches you the importance of delicate throttle and steering inputs to keep the car in control.

It’s easy to spin at first, but as the day progressed and I got to feel and understand the car’s dynamics, I found that the Dakar rewards you like no other car. I was revelling in the long drifts, flicking from left to right in true Fast and Furious style. Is that the fastest way around a corner?

In a region that’s covered in ice and snow for a large part of the year, you would imagine that its citizens have mastered the art of driving on low-grip surfaces, and they have. For generations, Scandinavians have been the best rally drivers in the world, and we are about to get a lesson on how to drive like them.

The Scandinavian Flick, a technique pioneered by the Finns, is like a dance move for cars to get around a tight corner quickly. Our instructor shows us how its done. Before the normal turn-in point for the corner, you have to give a quick steering input or ‘flick’ away from corner before turning sharply back into it with a simultaneous dab on the brakes. This unsettles the rear to bring the tail out, pivots the nose to the apex of the corner and sets you up to power out of the corner with a dramatic slide. It’s easy to mess it up and slide off, but get it right and you feel like an absolute hero. Or, in this subliminal white landscape I felt more like Santa on a very fast sled, cherishing what for anyone who likes to drive is the best Christmas gift, ever.