Antarctica 356 Mile Ice Challenge In A Porsche 356A Racer
If you wanted to cover 356 miles in Antarctica the car you’d chose is a 1956 Porsche 356A, obviously.
The re-engineered car has been built to take on the extreme terrain with some rather obvious modifications. The Skis on the front and a tracked rear providing the drive. This has been a proven means of propulsion for a long time, just probably not with a 356.
The ice challenge racer is the brainchild of racer and philanthropist Renee Brinkerhoff and Valkyrie Racing. Project 356 World Rally will be taking on the challenge to allow Renee to complete her 7th continent of endurance racing. But also a humanitarian effort to combat child trafficking.
The final leg of the challenge will commence on the 5th of December 2021.
The 1956 Porsche 356A has been transformed with solar panels, and a crevasse bar, done sympathetically to allow it to cross the harsh terrain and severe weather of the Antarctic.
It has taken 18 months to transform the Porsche from a road going race car to the snow and ice vehicle you see now. This will be Valkyrie Racing’s coldest and most dangerous motoring escapade to date. The UK-based Senior Chassis Design Engineer Kieron Bradley has managed to create a one off ice car which is something of an engineering marvel.
The chassis reinforcements range from aesthetic to safety and environmental considerations. The skis, tracks and crevasse bar with a dual sided solar panel are the obvious external modifications, the overall design looking rather purposeful.
The solar panel doesn’t just reflect the sun, the underside gets reflected light too which allow it to produce a peak output of 150W.
The roll cage is T45 tube which has been tig welded together with the rear track suspension mounts made from the same material.
There’s a 4 ton bag jack to lift the car in soft snow, a rear window exit option with storage accessible for emergency supplies from within the cabin.
To accomplish this the design must allow for the fitment of pre-approved spiked tracks with no wheel alignment changes.
The car must operate in a temperature range of -50 °C to +55 °C, which makes sense to use an air cooled engine.
The original rally prepared suspension must be used with only additional suspension parts used to control the tracks.
Importantly the car must be fixable with simple hand tools to keep weight down and to aid simplicity and the tracks and skis must be able to be fitted by just one person.
According to designer Bradley the skis don’t just look good, they were designed specifically to be supported by all the other components, so they don’t make any more of an impact in the snow than a footprint.
The combined ski and track increase the floatation by around 300 percent when compared to a typical 4 x 4 vehicle on massive 42″ tyres.
Renee Brinkerhoff over a decade has been a regular podium-finishing name in rallies such as the La Carrera Panamericana, whilst at the same time founding a successful non-profit, Valkyrie Gives. This is to provide funds and support to shelters in remote areas such as Mongolia, Peru, India and Kenya for the rescue and education of child trafficking survivors.
Through her efforts and Valkyrie Racing, Brinkerhoff has highlight one of the worlds hidden problems and lucrative industries to international criminals.
“Our racing efforts have given us a voice on a global platform to put an end to child trafficking.” said Brinkerhoff. By racing our ’56 Porsche in extreme rallies that have never seen this type of vehicle before, we are a unique anomaly and use this recognition to give a voice to put an end to child trafficking.
Renee has been selected by a U.S based NGO who are a group of volunteer operatives that take part in global undercover assignments. Each of the mission aids local police in gathering evidence to help to secure the rescue of victims and prosecute the traffickers. So far Brinkerhoff has taken part in operations in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
It’s all in a good cause after all.
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