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

  • Sowing the seeds: venture capital and ITS
    May 20, 2024
    Seed funding can help the budding creators of mobility solutions to realise their dreams and ambitions. Laura Fox of Streetlife Ventures tells Adam Hill what venture capital investors look for
  • Singapore plans changes to transit system
    June 13, 2018
    Singapore has the third-highest population density in the world and the numbers are continuing to grow. The government knows that transit is vital: David Crawford investigates the city state’s Smart Nation strategy. Transport is the most important of the five domains identified as the pillars of Singapore's far-reaching Smart Nation strategy, launched in November 2014 by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong with the aim of reaching fulfilment by 2024. Roads account for 12% of the island republic's 719km2 land ar
  • TISPOL conference sheds new light on VRUs
    June 2, 2016
    Geoff Hadwick reports on TISPOL’s efforts to protect vulnerable road users. At its annual conference in Manchester, TISPOL, the pan-European roads police organisation, called for the better protection of vulnerable road users. The statistics show a worrying trend as, since the turn of the century began, it is only the passenger car sector that is reducing its share of the overall EU fatality stats. Cyclists, motorcyclists and the elderly are all continuing to see their share of the figures worsen.
  • 3M invests US$1.3 million in tolling technology testing
    April 8, 2014
    3M is investing $1.3million to expand its research center to develop and test tolling and public safety products, and customers can use it too. When 3M opened its Transportation Safety Research Center (TSRC) in the 1970s it was as an extension of its research facilities. More than a showcase for innovation, the center was—and continues to be—a dynamic outdoor laboratory where new traffic materials, systems, vehicle safety and public safety products are tested in real-world conditions. Now, with 3M expanding