Audi's Electric Future Debuts On Ice
Audi New Zealand’s famous Ice Experience will include the manufacturer’s esteemed line-up of e-tron electric vehicles this season, including the halo RS e-tron GT.
Aug 10, 2022
Guests at the event will also be able to sample other iconic nameplates in Audi’s performance car line-up, including the Audi RS 3, RS Q3, RS 4 and S3 models.
Held each winter, the Audi Ice Experience takes place at the spectacular Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds in the Cardrona Valley. The event is generally a sell-out, with registrations already now open for the 2023 event.
The Audi Ice Experience for 2022 had commenced at the spectacular Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds in the Cardrona Valley, Central Otago.
Held each winter, Audi New Zealand’s most popular customer event delivers luxury and performance to a thoroughly unique setting. Over the course of the event, lucky participants get to experience an unrivalled driving challenge in some of Audi’s most exciting performance cars, including the fully electric RS e-tron GT.
Across 12 days, over 200 guests tackled what Audi New Zealand believes are the world’s most demanding driving surfaces under the guidance of expert instructors, learning how to master the skills needed to steer, counter-steer and drift on ice and snow.
Guests drive a mix of performance-themed models, including the Audi RS 3, RS Q3, RS 4 and S3. Also, for the first time Audi had its first fully electric exercise where customers will experience the e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT and the e-tron S Sportback on all-new terrain.
Tim Martin, Chief Instructor at Downforce (the company which provides expert driver tuition to guests), predicts that the addition of the full-electric exercise will be a customer favourite this year.
“Having driven Audi’s zero-carbon fleet in regular conditions I know that there is no compromise when it comes to performance,” he says. “But on the ice, this will take it to a whole new level. Feeling the power and quattro technology of these e-tron models in these extreme conditions will blow these customers away.”
Globally, Audi is leading innovative projects to push the boundaries of electric mobility, and its most recent partnership with Ken Block is a key example of this.
Dean Sheed, General Manager of Audi New Zealand, says that Audi not only wants to fascinate customers by breaking new ground in motorsport, but utilise the toughest circuits in the world to develop innovative technologies which will further enhance its electric platform.
“Electromobility at Audi is no longer a dream of the future, but the present,” says Sheed. “Audi New Zealand is taking its next step by offering electrified drive experiences to customers. The technology needed to drive these vehicles in the most extreme conditions, offered by Audi ice experience, provides the perfect arena for customers to see this progressive technology in action.
“In 2023, we will also introduce even more to our electrified range with the Q4 e-tron and a full range of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which we also expect to showcase during the 2023 ice experience.”