Arjeplog is situated in the far north of Sweden, just a couple of hundred kilometres south of the north Polar circle, where temperatures can fall as low as minus 40 degrees – it makes Belgium winters suddenly feel tropical. It is famous for an innovative move to arrest depopulation by offering families up to 100,000 kronor ($16,000) to move into the area.
Located on a large lake plateau it is also famous as a place car manufacturers put their latest models through intensive tests during the winter months. It’s not uncommon to spot a few prying paparazzi out there to get a peek at the latest models and perhaps get a scoop on manufacturers’ best-kept car secrets.
7 km is the length of the circuits on the municipality’s frozen lakes. During your stay in bitterly cold weather, the Audi team drivers will teach you how to skid, steer, counter steer, stabilize, drift, control your skids and ‘catch’ the car when it does go into an uncontrolled slide. The training experience provides you with a wide range of classic driving and safety training courses, from the Compact to the Executive Driver Pro training.
A fleet of carefully valeted and maintained training vehicles is provided by a skilled service team to guarantee a high degree of safety. And you get to try out the very latest models in the Audi range, including the Audi S5 Sportback and the Audi A8 4.2 TDI quattro.
If you take this exhilarating trip in at times awe-inspiring landscapes you will wonder if all those new driving skills will actually be useful when you get back to Belgium’s icy roads. You may well attempt to send the car into a drift again just to relive the pleasure you felt during your trip. The only problem is that you will no longer have the snow walls to catch you if you over-steer.
During the trip you might need a break from the nausea of the constant sliding. Take a trek with the sledge pulled by huskies or put a dent in your carbon footprint by taking to the snowmobiles. Of course, Arjeplog is also a ski resort but there are so many more exceptional things to do than just ski.
It’s not everyone’s idea of a holiday but for lovers of four wheels it’s an opportunity to hone your potential as a driver by improving your personal driving technique and get a kick out of it at the same time.
You can find all the information you need to book your trip by going to the Audi website and use the search box for the Audi Driving experience section.
