For most members of the classic cars community February is a month of racing on ice. While scrolling through social media one can see countless photos from the ICE St. Moritz where priceless classics go sideways around a track arranged on a frozen lake. I’ve visited the last edition and was amazed, but this year, I’ve found an interesting alternative.
The event was also organized on a frozen lake, also featured cars, speed and passionate people. The main difference was the definition of elegance. The perfectly maintained Swiss Ferraris were replaced by rusty Volvos featured with enormous turbos.
Årsunda Speed Weekend is called, by it’s organizers, Bonneville on Ice. This is a reference to the famous historic event where brave constructors were trying to break the land speed record. The perfect flat surface of the Swedish frozen lake, just like the legendary American salt desert, create ideal conditions for going fast. Very fast!
The look of one tired blue BMW e30 could bring the memories of the golden age of tuning. But just a glimpse at the huge turbo can tell that this car is a serious thing. It holds the record for the highest average speed: over 341 km/h!
By many people Sweden is seen as a boring country where safety is the only priority. This opinion must be verified after seeing a man riding a jet powered sled. The selection of rocket powered machines was bigger. Also why not replace the wheels with a timber saw blade? Great idea! I won’t be surprised if someone would bring a flame throwing tram to the next edition of the event.
The lake wasn’t only hosting two 4 km straights for breaking the speed record. An icy copy of Sachsenring, airport, heliport, track for hovercrafts and the stands for the mechanics were also located on its icy surface. Even the parking for guests was located on it, so every visitor could experience a bit of driving on the lake.
Visiting the Årsunda Speed Weekend was not only an opportunity to experience an interesting and internationally unknown event. It was also a great reason to drive through the picturesque Swedish winter landscape. An experience to remember.
