From black ice on your next ski holiday to off-piste pursuits by murderous henchmen, you never know when you might need to tackle ice on your wheels. Fortunately, the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds will make an ice-loving guru out of every modern gent.
While we associate James Bond tropical climes and scantily clad dames, 007 has had plenty of skirmishes in cold weather too. One of Pierce Brosnan’s most endearing moments in Die Another Day was when he raced around Iceland’s Glacier Bay in an ‘invisible’ Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, while a bald Korean albino raked him with machine gun fire. In The Living Daylights, Timothy Dolton races down a snowy Russian mountainside in a rocket-laden Aston Martin V8 Vantage with saucy cellist Kara Milovy at his side, and in Spectre, Daniel Craig rips apart a perfectly good airplane as he thwarts the evil association’s attempts to capture Dr Madeleine Swann. The fact is, you never know when you might need a little ice training.
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Visit the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG), high up in the New Zealand Southern Alps, outside the alpine haven of Wanaka, to test your nerve and skills on specialized ice-driving tracks, behind the wheel of a luxury sportscar.
Available between July and September each year, this icy escapade includes guided tutelage through the basics of dynamic ice-driving, turning and breaking, before afternoons spent navigating an ice circle and slalom course – there will even be time for a crack at the challenging autocross course.
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Of course, off the track, you’ll enjoy authentic kiwi hospitality. The Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds has its own alpine accommodation, complete with private chef, to save you the commute from Wanaka and giving more time on the ice to hone your skills.
Because you don’t just find ice in martini shakers.
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