Atop the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, the Nissan GT-R recently set the Russian ice speed record for a production car.
Unlike most non-frozen speed records, the Russian ice speed record requires a radically different setup. The test was run on an 8 km long section of the lake. Bookended by two 3.5 km sections (one for acceleration, the other for braking) a one kilometer zone, carved out of the middle of the run, was used as the official record setting area.
To verify the results of the run, four judges from across Russia and a committee from the Russian Automotive Federation huddled on the 1.5m (4ft) thick ice as observers. In the end, the GT-R blazed across the Russian ice reaching a top speed of 294.8 km/h (183mph).
Of course, being the fastest car on Russian ice isn’t the same thing as being the fastest car on ice period – that title belongs to a modified Bentley Continental Supersport – but the stock Nissan GT-R held its own. Running on smooth tires across a nearly frictionless surface where the notorious wind gusts can reach nearly 90 mph is no small feat, and I can’t see anyone attempting this record for a long time, let alone beating it.
Watch a Video of the Record Attempt:
Image and Video Courtesy of Nissan
Update:
As was pointed out by Kurt, the Audi RS6 recently upstaged the Bentley record for the World’s ice speed record. Running along a 12km track on the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland, the Audi reached a top speed of 335.713 km/h. Woah!
Watch a Video of the Audi attempt:
Video Courtesy of Nokian Tyres
