Last July, our international travels took us to continental Croatia’s Trash & Burn American car and bike event at Sveti Martin [1], where we witnessed a pretty ugly display of tire roasting with an otherwise beautiful ’86 C4 convertible that abused the tarmac as much as its owner abused its throttle.
[2]
Just the description of the Trash & Burn event was scary, and from what we could see of it, it truly was last summer’s ultimate pin-up girl, car and trash movie extravaganza. But it was the nerve that the drivers of the red C4 had that was the object of our focus, and we were just puzzled by the way some enthusiasts chose to enjoy the car craft.
It’s one thing, however to push the limits of driving on concrete, but what happens when a little ice and snow are thrown-in to the mix? Chris Knapman of the UK’s Telegraph [3] got to find out in a Z06 on a frozen lake bed in Arjeplog, Sweden as part of the Laponie Ice Driving [4] experience.
[5]Knapman is brave to take such a slippery C6 out in such adverse conditions, but after burying the featured Z06 in a little snow it becomes apparent that the environment is starting to take its toll on our British journalist. “It’s about minus 25 out here, and I don’t want to be outside the car shoveling anymore,” says Knapman of his snow-drifting dilemma.
The question that then comes to mind is what are these guys thinking taking something with rear-wheel-drive with that much power out on what could be Sweden’s biggest “skating rink?” Either someone just had way too much time, or they really were curious to see what it’s like to bury a Vette.
Either way it’s crucial to remember that driving on ice really can be a dangerous thing, but if you’re going to do it in a 500-horse Z06 then at least do a little research beforehand on how a transfer case conversion for a C6 may be in the cards; you just never know when you’ll need all-wheel-drive!
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