The thought of racing priceless vintage autos on the surface of a frozen lake is crazy, right? Would you take your prized possession out for a spin on sketchy ice and snow? But in a country known for alpine adventure, St. Moritz, Switzerland, is the site for one of the most visually stunning events you’ll ever see in motorsport.
They call it The ICE (International Concours of Elegance) St. Moritz. Four dozen curated cars on display, and on track, on top of the frozen February ice of Lake St. Moritz.
It’s a sensory overload. Swiss scenery, up-close contact with some of the most amazing cars ever built, the roar of unregulated motors, and to top it all off, hot laps on the frozen surface of the lake.
The history here is mindblowing. This 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C dates from the days when Signore Enzo Ferrari ran the Scuderia for Alfa. This car raced everywhere from Monza to Mont Ventoux. Imagine Enzo himself behind this steering wheel. And then think of the responsibility for driver Kataryna Kyvalova to pilot this car, at speed, on frozen Lake St Moritz.
Not every Ferrari Testarossa (“Redhead”) is red. This white ‘61 Testarossa looks good standing still… but it’s even more impressive in motion. Check out the faces of the windblown guys aboard this Ferrari…they’re both joyful and fearful as they drift and drive across the snow and ice.
This beast at The ICE is a V-16 C-Type Auto Union racer, a replica of the legendary autos produced in pre-war Germany between 1934 and ’37. The original C-Type racers were shipped to the Soviet Union after the war, and their whereabouts are uncertain. This one was built in 1998 by Audi, the company that evolved from the Auto Union marque. It looks and feels…and SOUNDS…exactly like the cars that won nearly two-thirds of all the events they entered.
From one beast to another. A 1925 Hispano-Suiza HC6, a pre-WW2 battleship that was once owned by members of the de Suiza family. This car dwarfs most of the other entries at St. Moritz. The only thing bigger than the car are the grins of the passengers in the backseat as the Hispano-Suiza roars around on the ice.
The 1925 Bugatti T39 is from the first generation of Grand Prix racers built with the smaller 1.5 liter motor. This car raced at GP events in France and Italy before winning the 1931 Australian Grand Prix.
Ski racks on priceless sports cars? They seem to fit right in at St. Moritz.
The 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Villa d’Este was named after the prestigous Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, the annual auto showcase on Lake Como. This car seems totally comfortable on the St. Moritz ice.
Another Italian classic, the Mille Miglia, inspired this 1953 Ferrari 250 MM. This car raced in multiple Miglia Miglias, and believe it or not, it was originally beige when it came out of the factory in Modena. A subsequent owner had it repainted red, its rightful color.
St. Moritz is just past the Swiss border with Italy, and there was a heavy Italian influence at The ICE. Ferraris dominated the entrants, with 13 Prancing Horses on display, including a one-off 1950 Ferrari 166 MM known as the “Uovo”…Italian for egg.
St. Moritz has been the winter playground of the rich and famous for more than 150 years. There was plenty of good people watching at The ICE, but the real action was on four wheels. And as long as there’s snow and ice in Switzerland, this event will be back to St Moritz every winter.
