Driving high-performance cars and trucks on a low friction, frozen surface area is more about strategy than pure cars and truck control.Published On Feb 19, 2023 08:00:00 AMSub-zero temperature levels are not what we tropical folks are utilized to, but for what we were about to do in the Austrian Tyrol, it could not have actually been any warmer. Any ice driving experience is generally a workshop to teach you the physics of vehicle control and discover the limitations of your vehicle at ridiculously sluggish speeds in a safe and open environment. The e-tron GT represents the vehicles future, which, in Europe, will be all-electric by the end of this years. RS e-tron GTs are exhilarating to drive on low friction surface.Balancing actThe real fun starts with the oversteer exercise in the RS5 due to the fact that turning a car with the throttle and hanging the tail out makes you feel like a hero. In a car weighing 2,345 kg, thats a lot of weight to move from the front to the rear wheels, so the cars and truck can get a bit unwieldy.

Driving high-performance automobiles on a low friction, frozen surface area is more about method than pure automobile control.Published On Feb 19, 2023 08:00:00 AMSub-zero temperature levels are not what we tropical folks are used to, however for what we were about to do in the Austrian Tyrol, it couldnt have actually been any warmer. Or more awesome. On a frozen field surrounded by rugged Alpine mountains, I was all set to drive a set of Audis on ice and the temperature readout of -7 degrees on the dashboard reassured us that the thick layer of ice that the studded winter tires would claw into, wasnt about to melt. Austrian Tyrol is a winter wonderland of unspoiled beauty.Welcome to the Audi Ice Experience, a one-for-the-bucket list experience thoroughly curated by the German high-end brand. For Audi, offering automobiles is inadequate. It also supplies experiences its clients (and us media) will always remember, and this two-day Ice driving program, set in an unspoiled winter season wonderland near Seefeld in Austria, is one of them. Its a surreal sensation drifting and moving effective Audis all day long on a surface thats as slippery as a bar of soap on a damp bathroom flooring, in a beautiful and entirely white landscape, and then having bunny for dinner. Its tough to evaluate how cold – 7 or -10 degrees truly is since we never experience such freezing temperatures. So I played safe and brought enough warm clothes to keep a household of polar bears snug. The good news is, there was no wind chill, and I didnt need to layer up excessive, which is simply as well because, on a program that includes driving on the edge, you want to be comfortable and not strained by heavy clothing.Stunning landscapes and some really quick Audis dish out an unforgettable experience.A fleet of Audi RS e-tron GTs and RS5s neatly lined up on an icy field await us for 2 days of drifting, sliding, understeering, oversteering, wheel spinning and periodic pirouetting. Any ice driving experience is basically a workshop to teach you the physics of automobile control and discover the limitations of your cars and truck at extremely slow speeds in a safe and open environment. The vehicles we are driving are not precisely sluggish. The RS e-tron GT is Audis fastest and most effective EV, producing 598hp and 830Nm of torque, which offers it a supercar-like 0-100kph time of 3.3 seconds, however thats on dry tarmac and not here on ice! The e-tron GT represents the automobiles future, which, in Europe, will be all-electric by the end of this years. Flying the flag for great old internal combustion before its gone is the Audi RS5 with its delicious three-litre V6 that develops a juicy 450hp and 600Nm of torque. These figures are considerably lower than the e-tron GTs, but the RS5 is an excellent 550kg lighter. And weight, as we quickly found, has an intense impact on your capability to manage an automobile. Breaking the ice Cones are neatly set out to demarcate numerous tracks and the only thing you can actually strike on this wide, long and flat ice field, which is totally free of any blockages, are simply the cones. So, theres great deals of run-off locations to safely make mistakes. For Fast and Furious style drifting, your right pedal is your second steering.Piece of cake, then? Thats what I believe till I march onto the ice and nearly go for a toss. If the ice is so slippery to stroll on, what must it be like to drive on? The Audis certainly have more grip than my Hush Puppies thanks to the Lappi-studded tires they are fitted with and Audis famous Quattro system that deftly balances traction between all four wheels. However, despite all that tech, grip levels are so low that even a mild prod of the accelerator pedal can provoke a slide. Driving on ice is more about strategy than pure cars and truck control and there are couple things you need to understand. First of all, grip is much more important than power and within the very first 10 metres, this becomes pretty clear. Secondly, weight transfer is a crucial technique to smoothly turn the automobile without losing control, and this is what our 2 dazzling instructors, Harald and Ian, try to drill into our heads. It includes suddenly raising off the accelerator pedal and turning the wheel. This chucks the weight to the nose so the front tires go into the ice, while the rears go light and gently lose grip to nicely bring the tail out. Easier said than done! Any fumbling behind the wheel does not miss the skilled eye of either instructor who leaps on the walkie-talkie to nicely tell us what we are doing wrong.Eagled-eyed trainers fast to correct us.To get us warmed up, the first course is a small loop that combines a basic slalom and a number of corners. Its quite low-speed things, but enough to get a good feel of both vehicles, which, from the get-go feel remarkably different. The larger and heavier RS e-tron GT is a little a handful and you require to be very precise with every steering and accelerator input. To get the hang of things, we first drive with the traction control on, however even then, a small prod of the ideal pedal makes the RS e-tron GT slither and squirm, the traction control light intensely blinking away to reveal its doing its task. The RS5 is far more agile and flexible, and for this reason, easier to skate through the tight and slippery course.Next up are lane change workouts to evaluate the stability systems and anti-lock brakes in both cars. Its pretty uncomplicated stuff and even with the traction control off both the RS e-tron GT and RS5 stoically go through the double lane change manoeuvers with simply a bit of a tail wag. If you like driving, you wont like understeer, which is why an understeer-inducing exercise in the RS e-tron GT to understand what it feels like when your front tires lose grip initially was the least amazing part of the day. RS e-tron GTs are thrilling to drive on low friction surface.Balancing actThe real enjoyable starts with the oversteer exercise in the RS5 because turning an automobile with the throttle and hanging the tail out makes you seem like a hero. Inducing oversteer isnt that easy. It requires commitment to keep your ideal foot in there and catch the slide with armfuls of opposite lock. Be reluctant or half-hearted with the throttle and you end up understeering like an also-ran. The advantage is that unlike the RS e-tron GT, the RS5 mores than happy to move therefore we head to the drift pad for the most amazing workout of the day, drifting around a tight circular course. For Furious and quick style drifting, the throttle pedal is your 2nd steering to swivel the automobile around its axis. Ease off the throttle and youll immediately lose the drift and if youre too harsh, youll spin. I manage to stabilize throttle and steering and seem like a drift champ holding lurid power slides for a couple of laps, looking more out of the side window than the windscreen. What a high this was! Studded tyres increase traction on ice.The toughest but most gratifying (if you get it ideal) exercise was a fast slalom in the RS e-tron GT, which truly evaluates your skills. Its best not to utilize the brakes, but, rather, rely on the weight transfer to pivot the cars and truck. But, in a vehicle weighing 2,345 kg, thats a lot of weight to move from the front to the rear wheels, so the automobile can get a bit unwieldy. Heres where the theory enters correct practice. Take off, move the weight to the front, delicately turn the wheel, provide a sharp dab of the accelerator pedal to bring the tail out, quickly use opposite lock to correct for the next set of cones. Repeat. It tends to understeer greatly and then snap into oversteer due to the fact that the heavy RS e-tron GT has rather a bit of inertia. The trick is to apply restorative action prior to you think you need to, however this does not concern you naturally. The few times I got it right– flicking the big RS e-tron GT through the slalom like a switchblade on the icy track without going too sideways or into a spin– generated a Bravo from our ever-watchful trainer, and made my day. xxThe last session of the day was a timed run over two laps on a specifically laid-out course for everyone media. The course had a mix of slalom, tight corners and some quite quick bends. This was the time to put all the theory into practice, and remember what Harald and Ian have been telling us for two days. When youre up versus the clock, the seat of your trousers takes over and you drive by impulse. I wasnt regrettable in the RS5, just a few tenths shy of the fastest man, Sirish Chandran of Evo. However we both clipped a cone, which implied disqualification from the official standings. Whilst the RS5 was a child, the RS e-tron GT on the same course was quite a handful, and I overcooked it on one of the slaloms and blew my possibilities of a great time with a semi-spin. No such mistakes for GQs Parth Charan, who whipped all the seasoned drivers by setting the fastest time of the day in the super-quick RS e-tron GT.What you take away back to warm India after two days on ice is that driving on a frozen, ultra-low grip surface area requires different abilities and techniques compared to driving on regular roadways. However the good idea is even when you spin out of control, you do not have to stress over striking anything. The only risk is of falling and slipping when you get out of the car. Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights scheduled.