Earlier this month, we caught a glimpse of Renee Brinkerhoff’s re-engineered 1956 Porsche 356A, as the Denver-based racer and philanthropist is getting ready to tackle the Project 356 World Rally, set to begin December 5, 2021. Her ultimate mission is to gain media exposure in a bid to end child trafficking, and her weapon of choice has now been fully unveiled.
It took more than 18 months in order to get this classic Porsche prepped for its coldest and most dangerous challenge yet, which explains why the vehicle pretty much looks like an engineering marvel – we can thank UK-based engineer Kieron Bradley for that, by the way.
His modifications include everything from chassis reinforcements to aesthetic changes and even environmental considerations. Of course, the first thing you see is the snow/ice gear, a combination of skis, tracks and a crevasse bar with a dual-sided solar panel. According to Bradley, those skis were designed to make less of an impact on the snow than a footprint.
“The ski and track combination increase the flotation by as much as 300 percent when compared to Antarctic 4x4 support vehicles on 42-inch tires – and the 356 will be gliding and leading the tracks throughout the entire journey," he stated.
Other major retrofits include the roll cage, a rear track suspension mount frame, a track bearing system with Dupont Krytox low temp grease, 12V low temperature compressor, a 4-ton bag jack (in order to lift the vehicle if needed), rear engine frame winch point, temperature gauge for early gearbox overheat detection (better safe than sorry), a rear window exit option and accessibility from inside the cabin area to reach survival and communication equipment.
When building this car, special care was taken to make sure that the crevasse bar doesn’t impair driver vision and that pre-approved spiked ice tires could be fitted with no wheel alignment change. Also interesting is how this vehicle still uses its original rally-prepped suspension and steering system, with only complementary suspension to control the tracks.
We’ll definitely be rooting for this iconic sports car come December.
His modifications include everything from chassis reinforcements to aesthetic changes and even environmental considerations. Of course, the first thing you see is the snow/ice gear, a combination of skis, tracks and a crevasse bar with a dual-sided solar panel. According to Bradley, those skis were designed to make less of an impact on the snow than a footprint.
“The ski and track combination increase the flotation by as much as 300 percent when compared to Antarctic 4x4 support vehicles on 42-inch tires – and the 356 will be gliding and leading the tracks throughout the entire journey," he stated.
Other major retrofits include the roll cage, a rear track suspension mount frame, a track bearing system with Dupont Krytox low temp grease, 12V low temperature compressor, a 4-ton bag jack (in order to lift the vehicle if needed), rear engine frame winch point, temperature gauge for early gearbox overheat detection (better safe than sorry), a rear window exit option and accessibility from inside the cabin area to reach survival and communication equipment.
When building this car, special care was taken to make sure that the crevasse bar doesn’t impair driver vision and that pre-approved spiked ice tires could be fitted with no wheel alignment change. Also interesting is how this vehicle still uses its original rally-prepped suspension and steering system, with only complementary suspension to control the tracks.
We’ll definitely be rooting for this iconic sports car come December.