Snowscape Rally - A blissful mix of cars
Over the years, the starting fields at this event have offered a variety of vehicles, some with exactly the right specifications to handle a road trip on narrow winter roads along Norwegian fjords and mountains, and some with completely the wrong specs if you ask any outsider. Among a selection of cars that are guaranteed to stand out on the roads, we find the Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, Audi R8 Twinturbo, McLaren 540C (with EU friction tires!), Ferraris, Gallardos and various Porsche 911s. Then we have a couple of lovely builds like a Lincoln Continental with Viper V10, the off-road classic Nissan Terrano and a Volvo P1800 equipped with a modern BMW V8.
This year, I thought it would be fun to leave my comfort zone and drive something a little older and visually more outstanding than a Porsche 911 or Mercedes AMG that I had previously chosen. The budget was of course a factor and after searching Google for Porsche 924 and 944 with the subsequent additions "safari" and "rallye", the plans were put into action and a white 924 from 1978 was converted into a "924 Rallye Edition" in a couple of months with the associated lift, extra lights, roof rack, fender flares and mud flaps. With a car that was well mechanically overhauled with many new parts, the cosmetic aspects were taken care of with a foil in Racing Green Metallic, where the rally decor was the icing on the cake.
Driving a Porsche from the 70s
With the oldest car on the starting line (if you count the inside), there were undoubtedly a few question marks and even some pessimists who aired their thoughts before the event. - "How are you going to get back and forth with that? That car will break down right away." But honestly, there's a bit of charm in getting into an older car with the destination almost 2000 km away a couple of days later and just experiencing the feeling of really getting to drive a car with a bit of soul in it. If you encounter problems - Well, then you have to make the best of the situation.
Several other teams had significantly bigger problems than us with various punctures, failing washer fluid functions and frozen tailgates. Our very own auction manager Erik was surprised when the front rim on his Audi S8 suddenly decided to split itself in half. Thankfully, the speed was low and the whole thing was solved by picking up a spare rim in a Maserati Gran Turismo that had fallen behind and started a day later. Problem solving is something you become very good at after a few years of road tripping around Europe!
Stockholm to Hemsedal
The 2025 route started as usual in Stockholm, this year at our friends at Tershine in Täby, then continued to Sälen, then crossed the border west to Beitostølen and then finished with two days in Hemsedal. Along the route we also drove the ice on Tisleifjorden and spent a day on the ski slopes in Hemsedal while some of us did some sightseeing further west. In the afternoons in Hemsedal, Skistua and Stavkroa hosted two crazy days with what are often referred to as northern Europe's best après-ski parties.
A favorite along the roads
Tom Bertling and his co-driver Lelle Wilhelmsson attracted many eyes in their P1800 equipped with a modern BMW V8 under the hood. A car you really don't expect to see on winter roads equipped with studded tires and extra lights.
As made for the purpose
A Toyota Yaris GR, with skis and everything on the roof, was more suitable for driving both snowy forest roads and ice rinks. The BMW M5 was not unexpectedly very light in the rear and probably went wide as often as straight ahead along the roads.
To read more about the Snowscape Rally event, visit their website here and also visit the Instagram pages @snowscaperally and @924rallye where you can see videos from the ice driving!
We hope for more crazy adventures next year!
/Tomas Jönsson