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Journal: Which Classic Sleigh Would You Slide Through The Snowstorm?

Which Classic Sleigh Would You Slide Through The Snowstorm?

Alex Sobran By Alex Sobran
December 21, 2017
17 comments

Okay, perhaps your “fun cars” are the sort that only touch completely dry asphalt and only then if the weather forecast promises a sky devoid of a single cloud. And that’s reasonable; for instance do you happen to own a yellow 275 GTB like the example pictured here competing in the 1966 Rallye Monte Carlo? Nobody expects you to drive it sideways through the salt and snow for the sake of it. That’s an extreme case, but it’s valid all the way down to a vintage Pinto.

There are plenty of vintage cars that can and do see use throughout the snowy season though. So while they may not confer the same value later on as their garage-kept counterparts, remember that there are more ways of measuring value. It’s an example of the classic garage-queen vs driver argument.

It would be a shame to commute a classic to death—clumps of week-old hard-packed black snow on the trailing edge of fenders is a fate that nothing but a lease deserves—but if there’s a fresh layer of unplowed powder on your street that’s a different story, and we want to hear yours: which classics have you driven through white stuff? Also, which would you like to, given the chance?

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Tags Best Winter Cars/ Questions Asked/ Snow/ Winter Driving
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LamborghiniukRune BjørgumGas ProjectSean WhelanMikko Recent comment authors
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Lamborghiniuk
Lamborghiniuk

I think my Impreza was one of the best especially with winter tyres 🙂

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6 months ago
Rune Bjørgum
Rune Bjørgum

Hi all petrol heads. Living in Northern Norway implies 6 months of winter driving. Over the years I have had the opportunity to drive different cars with quite different capabilities on icey ground. The best, so far, is the Audi S2. Perfectly balanced for winter driving. The worst is the Ford Escort MKII. Cars with a straight rear aksel and leaf springs does not have the best of grips. Front wheel driven cars might as well Lett you down in depp snow, since there will be limited friction for both traction and turning on the same aksel. Therefor, I really… Read more »

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10 months ago
Gas Project
Gas Project

I’m going to go with an 80’s quattro. Fast, grippy and a five cylinder soundtrack.

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1 year ago
Sean Whelan
Sean Whelan

When I think of winter sports cars I also envision ski chalets and fresh powdery snow. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different.
Winter driving, here in the north east, is a symphony of salt pellets and a sand blast of cinders pinging off the fender wells while a gray, clay-like brine of car eating ooze penetrates every nook like an oxidation time bomb. I tried the winter sports car thing and couldn’t do it, reality interrupted fantasy with a pronounced needle against a vinyl record sound effect.

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1 year ago
Mikko
Mikko

Drove a 1982 Opel Rekord in the winter of 2015/2016.
A bit rusty and ugly wheels but it got the job done.

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1 year ago
Chad C.
Chad C.

1979 Saab 99. In 1992, it made me feel as invincible as an 18 year old should feel while driving in several inches of fresh powder. It was almost unstoppable even in deep snow. I’m proud to have driven so “tastefully” at such an age… As for which car I’d like to take out on a snow day: my Lancia Scorpion is staying dry in the garage, but it would be very tempting to give it a go in the snow. I’ll resist until I have it thoroughly rust proffed, but when it is… My compliments to the 911sc driver… Read more »

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1 year ago
T holwerda
T holwerda

For a while I did not have anything else than an Alpine-Renault A310 V6 Ph. 2, so it had to take all weather conditions, it handled perfectly well in snow!

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1 year ago
Winston Wolfe
Winston Wolfe

I think I would take an olg gti: golf mk1 or my former 205. And certainly an Opel Kadett C

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1 year ago
Colin
Colin

I bought an ’87 Porsche 924S and a set of Blizzaks this fall to be my winter beater. Took it out to an empty parking lot during the only significant snow we’ve had so far this year, and it did pretty well…can’t wait for more.

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1 year ago
Daniele Roncali
Daniele Roncali

amazing!

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1 year ago
Cam
Cam

My ’79 911sc.. Took it for a tool in some fresh powder the other day, I could not resist… When I first got the car over a year ago, I would have never thought I’d be caught dead with it in the snow… Since then, my outlook on what Porsche created the 911 for has changed drastically.. Driving a car like that can have this affect…

-Cam

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1 year ago
Bryan Dickerson
Bryan Dickerson

My ’71 Saab Sonnet and ’72 Datsun 510 were fun in Alaska winters. I also remember riding home from school many winter days with my friend in his 1970 GTO ‘Judge’. Barely touching the gas would result in instant doughnuts!

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1 year ago
Kyle Lodge
Kyle Lodge

Does my 2002 Land Rover Discovery count? It feels like a classic haha

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1 year ago
Paul Ipolito
Paul Ipolito

Between 1971 and 1975 I drove the following through Buffalo, NY winters and lived to tell the tale: 1969 Z-28 Camaro, 1970 Boss 302 Mustang, and a 1975 Trans Am Firebird. I had pretty good taste in cars (Trans Am, not so much), but obviously was not too smart.

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1 year ago
Martin Philippo
Martin Philippo

Saab. Simple.

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1 year ago
R32rennsport
R32rennsport

I’m obligated to cat my vote for the Volvo Amazon seeing as I own an example.

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1 year ago
ScoutingForZen
ScoutingForZen

Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II. It was MADE for drifting in the snow

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1 year ago