Bentley's Continental GT is the fastest car on ice

A Bentley Continental GT, driven by four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, has broken the world ice speed record with an average top speed of 199.86mph (321.65km/h), beating the previous record of 184.14mph (296.34km/h) set by a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. The event took place on the frozen sea off the coast of Finland, where temperatures reached as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The near standard AWD Conti, also owned by Kankkunen, managed to reach a top-speed of 206mph (331km/h) but for the purposes of the record, only average figures were used. Despite the GT’s exceptional mechanical grip and the addition of spiked Nokian snow tyres, the car still experienced wheel-spin at speeds in excess of 120mph. Modifications to the car, other than the studded tires, included a full roll cage and minor aerodynamic tweaks, but the drivetrain remained untouched.

The rules of the attempt is that the ice must be formed naturally and cannot be treated with any chemicals, while the tires must be street legal in which ever country the attempt is being made. When travelling at 200mph, each stud on the tire exerts up to 2.2kg of pressure and covers a distance of 90m per second.