Bentley is used to turning heads in the 2020s, but this was on another level. Beneath the stunning Montana mountains, there was a Bentley Speed Six. On studded tires. Sideways.
A century ago, the Speed Six was the car to have at la Sarthe. Big Sky’s inaugural FAT Ice Race is about as far removed as you can get from France’s mid-summer, day-long Le Mans classic. Yet here it was, 100 years later, still stopping people in their tracks.
That’s what the FAT Ice Race is all about. Whether you stop for the music, the monster-sized model Porsche 911, a bright blue Lancia Stratos, the outrageous on-track action or the FAT-badged macarons, you will stop. And have the time of your life.
FAT International was a French logistics company which, most famously, sponsored the 1994 Le Mans-winning Dauer 962 driven by Yannick Dalmas, Hurley Haywood and Mauro Baldi. That was then. FAT International is now owned and run by Ferdi Porsche – the great-grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. And it’s all about cars, cool and lifestyle.
At the heart of the FAT DNA is ice racing.
Small Brenten Kelly or big Porsche 911? Welcome to the FAT Ice Race...
And that’s why we’re here in Montana, watching some of motorsport’s most extraordinary cars… and Herbie, the #53 Volkswagen Beetle, complete with a full set of antlers, ripping it up.
Lia Block’s a big fan. Fresh from being two corners from her first ever outright ARA National Championship win in Michigan, the Utah star has put her Sno*Drift disappointment behind her in the only way she knows how.
Drifting a Bentley in the snow. No, not that one. Block’s aboard the same car Travis Pastrana used in FULL SEND.
“The first FAT Ice Race in Big Sky was incredible,” she grinned. “I was honored to be a part of it, and to be back as part of the Bentley family again. Sliding the Supersports on the ice was an absolute blast, and that car is definitely my new favourite Bentley.”
Again?
Block sent the Supersports super-sideways in Montana
For sure, don’t forget her meeting with Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill.
Ben Whattam is Bentley’s marketing director and a big fan of the Big Sky weekend.
“FAT International,” he said, “is an injection of energy and entertainment into the growing sub-culture of cars and we identified it as the perfect platform for Bentley Motors: a brand on a mission to refresh its image.
“The blurring of lines between cars, music, hospitality, fashion, and affluence is a playground for our existing and future audiences and we’re excited to contribute – not least in Big Sky for the inaugural Montana event in partnership with the iconic Yellowstone Club.”
Among all of the beautiful Bentleys, there's Herbie. With antlers, naturally
No arguments here. Every aspect of the event was an absolute winner. But what about that car. What about driving something made for racing 100 years ago?
Bentley’s head of product communications and Bentley Heritage Collection Mike Sayer was behind the wheel.
He told us: “The Speed Six was likely the slowest car on the ice, but one of the most exciting to drive!
“The Continuation Series cars are totally identical to the originals from the late 1920s, and driving something so mechanical, linear and pure in those conditions is a wonderful challenge. Maybe next year we can entice some of the 12 customers of this stunning family of continuation cars to come and join us – a fleet of pre-war-design Bentleys on the ice would be quite a sight.”
The FAT Ice Race was quite a sight from start to finish.
