THRILL OF THE CHILL

A frozen lake in the Arctic and a fleet of suitably prepared Porsches. Where better to hone your power-sliding skills?

- Elliott Hughes

THE RAUTUVAARA MINE'S hoisting tower is a post-war concrete monolith that once hauled millions of tonnes of magnetite from the Finnish bedrock.

Today it rises silently from the Arctic landscape like a lighthouse in a nuclear winter. To a Brit, it seems miraculous that people once toiled in such an unforgiving place. It's -30°C, but the prospect for today is infinitely more appealing than a subzero shift underground. Porsches can be heard idling outside the nearby log cabin, flat-six exhaust plumes hanging in the glacial air, seemingly impatient as Huskies waiting to mush.

It's likely that few 911s have ventured as far north as this intrepid collection. While their counterparts are tucked away in the warmth of winter hibernation, these machines will be driven hard in temperatures that turn 10W-60 into molasses. This extreme environment is the favoured habitat of Jan Kalmar, a straight-talking Dane who forged a career at Porsche before founding his off-road adventure company, Kalmar Beyond Adventure. The cars are built by Kalmar Automotive - its radical, 959-inspired 9X9 featured in Octane 273 - the portfolio of which favours functional engineering over superficial styling. Tellingly, that very 9X9 prototype is here in the Arctic, along with the fleet of purposely modified machines.

Daylight is precious in the Arctic winter. Having completed a briefing the night before, Jan ushers me towards the colourful trans-Africa-liveried 993. 'We live by the motto of starting where others stop,' he says, opening the driver's door. 'You're going to surpass your limits safely - and with a smile.' Difficult to argue with that.