Skip to main content

New world record for fastest car on ice

A new world record for the fastest car on ice has been set this week by Nokian Tyres' test driver Janne Laitinen who drove 331.610 km/h (206.05 mph) on the Gulf of Bothnia in Oulu, Finland.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new world record for the fastest car on ice has been set this week by 205 Nokian Tyres' test driver Janne Laitinen who drove 331.610 km/h (206.05 mph) on the Gulf of Bothnia in Oulu, Finland. The record was broken on a 14-kilometre ice track in freezing conditions and the car, a 23 Bentley, was equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 studded tyres (255/35R20 97 T XL).

The Guinness World Records organisation outlines detailed rules for ice driving world records. The time for the one-kilometre distance is taken for driving in both directions of the track, and the world record time is the average of these two results. The vehicle takes a flying start and the Bentley was fitted with a parachute for emergency stops as well as a roll cage and a spoiler, although in other respects it was a standard model. The ice has to be natural and it may not be roughed up or treated with any chemicals. The tyres must be commercially available and approved for road traffic in the country in which the record attempt takes place.

Nokian Tyres developed the world's first winter tyre for raw, subzero conditions back in 1934. Two years later, it introduced the Hakkapeliitta, designed for northern winters and today one of the world's best-known winter tyre brands. The world's northernmost tyre manufacturer tests and develops new additions, customised for different uses, for its winter tyre family at its own test facilities in Ivalo, 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • All around the world: #ITSDubai2024
    September 5, 2024
    The bosses of the three major international ITS organisations – ITS America, Ertico and ITS Asia-Pacific – have put their heads together on a podcast. Beate Kubitz listens in…
  • Traffex snapshot reveals enforcement advances
    July 24, 2017
    An indication of just how far beyond spot speed and red light the enforcement sector has progressed was evident in the range of new and improved equipment on display at the recent Traffex event in Birmingham. One of the key trends, particularly in the UK but also evident elsewhere, is the increase in average speed enforcement, according to RedSpeed’s managing director Robert Ryan, who predicts a big increase in installations this year. “The price point has reached a level authorities can afford,” he says, a
  • Dynamic charging boosts electric vehicles’ potential
    December 16, 2014
    With an increasing need to use electric vehicles in city centres to reduce pollution, David Crawford looks at various solutions to power delivery. The UN’s September 2014 Climate Summit has added fresh momentum to the drive to increase urban electric vehicle (EV) takeup. It has launched the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, which wants to see EVs accounting for 30% of all urban travel by 2030, and make cities worldwide more friendly to their use. Encouragingly, the plan is being well supported by commerci
  • Vision technology is bringing 2024 into sharp focus
    January 9, 2024
    What vision trends should we be looking out for? AI? Autonomous vehicles? Video analytics? Let’s ask the experts