Top Five Cars on a Powder Day
While it’s fun to shred when there’s a foot of fresh, sometimes it’s good to mix things up a bit and forgo the skis or board for an engine and four snow tyres. And while trucks are great, on a snowy country road, a fast car is about as good as it gets. Here’s a list of my top five ‘dream cars’ on a powder day. And yes, all of them are fast.
5. Audi RS6 Avant: With the world renown Quattro AWD system and a 500+bhp, 4.0ltr V8 under the hood, this ‘sport wagon’ is a caged lion that will give your average super car a run for its money. In the snow, with a proper set of winter rubber, it’ll blow the doors off just about anything that comes in its way. Best of all? You can take the kids to ski school in it.
4. The Subaru WRX. An icon in the world of motorsport, the WRX is a multiple WRC Rally Champion. With a 305bhp 4 banger, lots of torque and a super capable AWD system, the WRX is all about rocketing down single lane roads during a storm.
The WRX.
3. The Ford Fiesta ST. Not many performance cars come with just the right amount of power; power you can use all the time. With a boosted 1.6ltr Ford Eco Boost engine pumping out 197bhp and weighing less than a bobsleigh, this snarling little beast came 3rd in Road and Track’s top performance cars of 2013. In the snow it’s all business and has so much grip it defies explanation. Best of all, it barely even burns fuel.
The Fiesta ST.
2. Porsche 911 Turbo. Yep. Midlife crisis car. But with their new AWD system and rumoured return to the WRC, the 911, an icon on the road, is a demon in the snow. Imagine the Nurbugring after a dump: the 911 would eat it up. Why the Turbo? Why not? Do you really want the straight 911 or even the Carrera? Give me the Turbo. Zero to Sixty in under three and half seconds and a top speed approaching 200 mph, the 911 Turbo is every man’s dream.
1. The Shelby GT500 Super Snake. You heard me, a muscle car. An 850 horsepower, rear wheel drive, American muscle car. Put a set of Nokian Hakkapeliita R2 tyres on there and you have the ultimate winter drift machine. Rip around corners with your arse end hanging out in the wind. Feel the deep rumble of an enormous, gas guzzling monster V8 barreling through the mountains on the outer limit of control. That’s what I would want.
It just needs snow tyres.
Whatever your choice for a winter car or truck, do yourself a favour and put some proper snow tyres on there. Forget your all seasons and get the real deal. Even on a performance car, companies like Bridgestone, Pirelli and Nokian make performance winter tyres that will make driving effortless, fun and even a little safer.
Be safe, ski hard.
About D'Arcy McLeish
Writer, copywriter, professional ski patroller, rope access technician, mountain rescue specialist, coffee addict, CBC listener. When not doing any of these things, you'll find D'Arcy either reading, climbing or riding his bike. He lives in Squamish, British Columbia.View all posts by D'Arcy McLeish