Slay Ride: Dispatch From the F.A.T. Tire Ice Race Grant Hindsley(left) Romanian-born surgeon Alexander Marmureanu celebrates a class win in a cojoc, a traditional shepherd's coat. (right) Porsche was heavily represented from all eras of its history.Grant HindsleyThe year is 2026, and when someone puts together an event stacked with influencers dominating social-media feeds with their coverage, there's understandably a high degree of cynicism. From the outside looking in, it's hard to tell what's real from what's contrived, created purely for self-promotional clout. Is it fake, engineered to engender envy when viewed for a few seconds on a phone screen between images of AI-generated honeypots and clips from pseudoentrepreneurs' podcasts? Our devices have tainted reality, blurring and warping our shared existences to personalized algorithms.This story originally appeared in Volume 35 of Road & Track.Hearst OwnedBut the F.A.T. Ice Race in February in Big Sky, Montana, felt decidedly real, if somewhat bizarre. An ice race at the foot of a mountain makes for stunning visuals but is not exactly mainstream motorsport. F.A.T. itself also operates beyond traditional business concepts such as making things and selling them. Though F.A.T. International was once a transport and logistics company in Europe (Français Allemand Transit), Ferdi Porsche acquired the rights to the defunct business's name a few years ago and gave it a fresh identity: "an automotive and lifestyle brand combining passion, motorsport and fashion with the ethos of racing for a new generation."Holders of standard and VIP tickets alike had plenty of spots for watching the ice-racing action.Grant HindsleyFerdi Porsche is happy to tell anyone that F.A.T. is now closer in meaning to the American slang term "phat" than to anything related to its origins. And yes, that Porsche. Ferdi, 33, is Porsche founder Ferdinand's great-grandson. Ferry was his grandpa, and his father, Wolfgang, is the current company chairman. In 2019, Ferdi and business partner Vinzenz Gregor resurrected a traditional ice race in Austria that had last been run in 1974. The GP Ice Race led to the launch of F.A.T. International in its contemporary iteration, which also involves a karting league. Thus rebranded, the F.A.T. Ice Race expanded to Aspen, Colorado, in 2024 and, after skipping the States in '25, returned this winter at its new venue.Grant HindsleyAdvertisementAdvertisementAs much spectacle as actual race, the entire event was beautiful, not just in photos but also in person. The track was wraparound-framed by the rockiest of mountain skylines. The dozens of cars participating—selected with input from Ferdi himself, by and large to maximize variety for the audience—were all over the spectrum. Porsche was obviously heavily represented, and there were also Legends racers, modern hypercars, golden-era WRC metal like the Fiat 131 Abarth and the Lancia Stratos and Delta, and retro-modern rally toys such as Ryan Tuerck's Celica GT4. The acceptance of my radial-engine Meyers Manx is proof that weird can find a place among rare and valuable.(left) The classic F.A.T. International logo still goes hard. (right) This is the kind of event where a "Pepsi" Rolex isn't that out of the ordinary.Grant HindsleyFor those without a car involved, general admission tickets offered solid access and started at $349 for a two-day pass for Friday and Saturday or $225 for a single day. A viewing area overlooked the exit of Turn 1 and the entry into the esses, where 90 percent of car-to-wall contact took place. The ratio of spectators to food and drink spots, restrooms, and staff meant lines weren't long. And the paddock and grid area were open to everyone, so you could get up close with cars and drivers. A VIP ticket, $1799 for a single day, included complimentary booze (assuming you weren't actually driving), fresh shellfish, upgraded restrooms, loads of places to sit down and get warm, and a less crowded viewing area overlooking Turn 1. The fashion was way better in the VIP section too, so I made sure to sneak Road & Track's photographer my pass.Hearst OwnedAs ticket sales got under way, the vibe about attending went from "wait and see" to "everyone's going to be there, so you should too." Tickets eventually sold out, and in the days before the event, I received feverish requests from friends asking for a spare couch to sleep on or an extra pass of any kind. The ice race drew about 6000 people, and without additional infrastructure, it will be tough for the event to grow much bigger in the future.Unseasonably high temperatures made fluffy coats more fashion than function.Grant HindsleySpeaking of strong sales, F.A.T. has some compelling merchandise. The fabulously colorful cold-weather gear includes red knit caps and blue down puffer jackets with Velcroed interchangeable badging. The merch was mostly gone by 10 a.m. Friday. I wore Lotus and Ferrari swag specifically to rib Ferdi (to great success), but I caved and bought a $55 hat.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe racing was time-attack style, with a PA announcer describing the action. On the ground, however, no one cared who was in which place or what a competitor's time was. There were some audible oohs whenever someone tapped a wall and big cheers for a great save. Most drivers seemed to prefer putting on a show for the crowd to running a clean time. The ice racing made for magnificent photography but was less captivating on video. Leaning on the railing of the VIP section, a man in head-to-toe cowboy chic said the quiet part out loud: "Is it me, or are these cars going really fuckin' slow?"(left) Merch like this jacket quickly sold out. (right) Are these pants Ravenna Green or Linden Green?Grant HindsleyIt's not you, pardner. The majority of cars, even with big opposite lock and a roostertail of slushy Montana white stuff in social-media stills, were indeed making modest ground speed. But it didn't seem that way from inside the car. My mere seven and a half minutes of slip-slidey, sideways seat time—two runs, three laps each—was nothing less than utterly exhilarating from behind the wheel and properly dangerous too. Far more expensive metal than mine ended up in the hard, rough wall. It takes a healthy ego, such as @sharetheenzo driver Barry Lundgren's, to risk so much in front of so many people at such low speeds.Warm weather was concerning. It was cold overnight, but afternoon temperatures were in the 50s. That's nice for a mid-April ski in a sweatshirt but suboptimal for February on ice. Though organizers spent sleepless nights building up the track with snowmaking equipment, they ultimately cut Friday's racing three hours short to preserve the surface for Saturday. The irony that this event, a celebration of automobiles that was sponsored in part by Mobil 1, was possibly compromised by climate change is not lost on me.There were plenty of cameras and no shortage of things to photograph.Grant HindsleyOwing to the softer snow conditions on day two and more familiarity with the track, my fear of smashing my car to bits subsided. I drove better the second time around, although still not empirically fast. "The fastest you went was 27 miles per hour," my wife, Hanna, noted from the passenger's seat as we idled back through the paddock. I couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or relieved.AdvertisementAdvertisementUnquestionably, the weirdest machine came with Meyers Manx chairman Phillip Sarofim, who turned the gray radial-engine buggy I reviewed for R&T Vol. 26 into a snowmobile, with skis on the front and tank treads on the rear. I'm told it was "a challenge" to drive.(left) Just a person atop another person's shoulders. Not one supertall individual. That would be weird. (right) Even with two drinks, you have to keep one hand free for the phone camera.Grant HindsleyI loved all of it. That my inclusion was likely swayed by my Instagram numbers felt deeply secondary in the moment, as evidenced by the shameful quality of my posts from the event. I was having too much fun to think about taking pictures.As the new-media set—enthusiasts, racers with big followings, influencers with sponsors—latched on to the F.A.T. Ice Race, so too did corporations. Rivian launched the Rivian Adventure Department and hosted an enormous party and media event featuring a literal wheelbarrow of tiramisu. Bentley brought out its new Supersports alongside a Speed Six continuation car and made custom bomber jackets for the occasion. Porsche chipped in by hosting a nail bar and firepits, and Porsche dealers, tuners, and owners were everywhere. I counted no fewer than 40 individual 911 Dakars in Big Sky for the weekend, which must be by far the most in any one place since they left Zuffenhausen.Driving a Meyers Manx in the snow is as fun as it looks.Grant HindsleyThis isn't a lucky accident. The organizers have a bigger vision for a whole Big Sky Car Week, with the ice race as its centerpiece, mirroring the Monterey Car Week monster that began with a road race and Sunday concours before spawning dozens of adjacent events. It's already on its way, as the Jackalope Drivers Club premiered The Frost and the Furious, a more affordable and less glitzy ice race, at the airport in West Yellowstone the previous weekend. Some F.A.T. entrants used it as a warm-up, mixing it up with locals. There's talk of ski-slope hill climbs, skijoring, and other snowy car-related spectacles.Grant HindsleyIs all of this a good or bad thing? Is it for real car enthusiasts or just those who want to pass themselves off as such? Genuine racing or artificial exhibition? Or is this, as fellow journalist and attendee Chris Harris said, a "party with some semblance of motorsport happening vaguely down there"? Yes, to all of it.Mountains provide a spectacular backdrop for every shot.Grant HindsleyAdvertisementAdvertisementIf you experienced the race through social media and endured the FOMO the marketers wanted you to suffer, you're not a sucker. The weekend looked fun because it was. It was cool and new and energetic and in a place people don't normally associate with car things. It was imperfect, as many first go-rounds are, but full of promise.By the end, everyone I spoke with on the ground was already making plans for 2027. What car would they bring? Wilder still, what car should they build?(left) Camera blur greatly enhances the impression of speed. (right) In the short modern history of F.A.T. International, Ferdi Porsche has made"offline experiences" such as the ice race into can't-miss galas.Grant HindsleyI'm going back too. I already have the spiked tires, and I also feel the itch to take things up a level. Should I try to get tank treads for my Manx? Turn Hanna's Mitsubishi Delica into a Dakar tribute? Or convince an automaker to lend me a concept car or something from a vintage collection for seven minutes of slow, sideways social-media glory? Regardless of what I'll be driving, I just don't want to miss out.A car-lover's community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences.JOIN NOW Hearst OwnedYou Might Also LikeIf You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State