The Winter months in New Zealand can be challenging for car-enthusiasts. Those living here will probably appreciate the rare occurrence between June and August, when the weather and the temperatures coincide favourably to provide an opportunity to enjoy a drive.
Of course, there exists a saying that “necessity is the mother of invention”, and using the seasons to their advantage, a cunning few from BMW organised a one-of-a-kind winter automotive experience. A privileged group of petrol-heads would have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a range of BMW M Performance vehicles, and enjoy sliding them around at an automotive winter testing facility in New Zealand’s South Island.
DriveLife was provided a rare opportunity to attend the 2024 BMW M Snow and Ice Experience, held at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Beginning of the day
After an overnight stay at Millbrook Resort and an early rise, we embarked towards the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG) situated in Cardrona.
Cardrona is roughly one-hour’s drive outside of Queenstown, and is known for the Cardrona Alpine Resort, its mountain biking trails, and more recently, the Cardrona Distillery (which I’d recommend visiting, AFTER driving).
SHPG itself is located on the opposite hill to the Alpine Resort, accessed only by an unsealed, private road.
Follow this goat-track up the mountainside, you’ll discover the world-class automotive winter testing facility with sixteen different testing grounds, including several handling tracks, snow and ice circles, varying terrain flats, and even snow machines for when the weather isn’t cooperating.
BMW, along with other auto manufacturers, have used SHPG for development and testing of their latest vehicles. Even though it may sound like a logistical nightmare for a manufacturer to ship their vehicles and staff down to New Zealand’s South Island, SHPG’s testing grounds allow a manufacturer to continue the development of its vehicles from June through August – during summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Unlike the neighbouring Alpine Resort, SHPG is a strictly private facility. No season pass is going to grant you access here.
The scenery as you ascend the mountainside is absolutely spectacular, and was only made better upon arrival to see a line-up of M3 Competitions and X3 M40is that BMW had brought across from Australia for the event.
Of course, sliding around would need to wait, as the group was ushered indoors for an introduction, a safety briefing and some introductory driver theory.
Joining us at the event were staff from BMW Australia, BMW New Zealand and driving instructors from Track Time Driving Academy in New Zealand. The driving instructors have extensive history in motorsport, and many are certified BMW driver trainers – a course offered to few, and only in Germany.
Even with only a few hours’ sleep up my sleeve (my own fault), an enthusiastic and jovial Aussie presenter (also a BMW trained driver) provided an engaging introduction, while all of us enjoyed barista-made coffee from SHPG.
The presentation itself covered driver basics, including understeer, oversteer, how snow interacts with the car, and how to set up your ideal driving position before going sideways on ice.
Our day itself would involve several exercises, including Emergency Stopping, the Slalom, Snow Drifting, handling exercises and the Motorkhana. We’d also get a ride along in an M3 with a professional driver behind the wheel.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Emergency Stop
Heading back out into the cold, our first drill would be performing an emergency stop procedure from 50kph.
Earlier, our presenter explained the impact which snow and ice had on stopping distances. BMW’s research found that an attentive driver travelling at 50kph across tarmac could react, brake and stop in 12 metres. On snow, the stopping distance nearly quadrupled, taking 47 metres to grind to a halt. On ice, you’d take 142 metres.
These facts drove home the importance of driving to the conditions, but also showed the profound impact which winter tyres can have in snowy conditions. For this event, BMW partnered with Bridgestone to equip all the cars with Blizzak LM005 winter tyres. These tyres weren’t publicly available in either Australia or New Zealand. Instead, Bridgestone had these units made and sent to BMW specifically for this event.
Anyway, this drill served as a starting point for the day, getting the group used to the feel of braking and stopping on snow. BMW also used this as an opportunity to demonstrate how their cars prime themselves during an emergency stop for an accident. When successful, the seat belts will tension up, and all the windows will close to protect the driver from any crash debris.
Testing this out would mean lowering the windows for the run, which was a bitter pill to swallow in the cold temperatures. Good thing these BMWs have heated seats!
After each person had a couple of stops in both the M3 and the X3, we moved on to the next drill – the Slalom Circuit.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Slalom Circuit
The slalom circuit would take us through a short weave between cones, before a snow circle turn (or drift, if you’re feeling confident), before returning through the same route.
The circuit would be an introduction to the handling dynamics of, and to experience the all-wheel drive systems and the intervention of the traction control in both vehicles.
The M3 Competition uses M xDrive, making it the first ever all-wheel drive M3. XDrive itself is a variable all-wheel drive system using an open-diff on the front and a clutch-based rear, which can send 100% of the engine power to either axle. By default, xDrive is rear biased to allow drivers to enjoy the dynamics of rear-wheel drive, but will intervene in situations where traction is limited.
Because of xDrive, the M3 Competition can be configured various ways from 4WD mode with traction control on, through to a 2WD “drift mode” with nothing on. There’s also an intermediate mode for the traction control called MDM, which allows some slip angle before the traction control intervenes to correct itself. In the snow, MDM mode paired with 4WD mode was the sweet spot for this slalom circuit, allowing you to enjoy some tail wagging goodness without spinning off course.
The X3 M40i does not have xDrive, but does utilise the all-wheel drive system with a 30/70 rear bias. It also has an intermediate mode called “traction”, to down-regulate the traction control. This, or you can switch it fully off. Again, the sweet spot was to have it engaged in the slalom. I’ll admit, this day would probably be the only time I’ll ever experience oversteer in an X3, although the X3 M40i was surprisingly capable at pulling off a slide.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Professional Driver Ride-along
Two exercises down, BMW decided to then demonstrate what an M3 was capable of, in the hands of a seasoned professional. That professional in question was Tracktime’s lead instructor, Mike Eady.
Mike’s experience in motorsport could probably span longer than my arm. Among his achievements include being the Porsche GT3 champion in 2004, a Nürburgring race class winner in both 2006 and 2010, as well as being the North Island Endurance champion in 2011, a title which he claimed behind the wheel of a BMW M3.
Mike’s extensive driving CV was undoubtedly reassuring, as three of us from the group climbed into an M3, before Mike launched us full-send around the mountainside.
Mike was as cool as ice, threading the M3 around the snowy mountain grounds of SHPG. The route could have easily been mistaken for a Swedish WRC stage, as we drifted down single lane trails and over blind crests.
Mike’s master-class of driving also allowed the M3’s capabilities to shine, demonstrating its incredible chassis balance and the capability of its drivetrain across the snow and ice.
The whole experience was exhilarating and terrifying in the best sort of way. Mike is a wizard behind the wheel, and the M3 performed flawlessly. More remarkably, the Bridgestone tyres had little heat afterwards, yet their grip during the run was immense.
This incredible display of driving concluded our morning activities, and I’ll admit, I’m glad we had our experience before lunchtime.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Snow Drift
After an excellent lunch provided by SHPG, our group was up for its third exercise – the Snow Drift. For this exercise, we’d be drifting in a circle between two M3’s; the sedan and touring variants.
Drawing black lines across tarmac has long been the BMW M3’s signature dish. Today, those lines would instead be white, drawn atop the mountains of Cardrona.
The M3’s drift missile persona is owed to its chassis, but also its incredibly potent powertrain. This M3 (the G80 generation) uses a turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine (called the S58) outputting 375kW of power and 650Nm of torque through an 8-speed ZF gearbox.
On tarmac, plentiful amounts of power will help you overcome the friction of the ground. On ice, breaking traction can be achieved with a fraction of the power, yet having more power helps with throttle steering during a drift.
The formula for executing the drift is simple. Enter slowly (about 20kph), turn the wheel and punt the throttle, which initiates the slide. As the M3’s rear comes around, counter-steer and feather the throttle quickly to sustain the slide. More throttle without counter steering puts the nose of the car closer to the apex of the turn, while lifting-off allows the car to rotate around.
Naturally, all of this is easier to write than to execute. I certainly made a hash of it a few times, but after some good instruction from the drivers, it started to come more naturally.
Driving on any low adhesion surface can easily turn pear-shaped, but fortunately, the wide rinks of SHPG eased any anxiety of putting any prangs in a new M3. Even then, your BMW experience does come with insurance.
In other words, don’t be afraid to fully send it.
After a few rounds in an M3 sedan, myself and my partner for the day switched over to the M3 Touring.
The M3 Touring is the first ever station-wagon M3 to be produced by BMW, and it’s arguably going to survive as one of the coolest M3’s ever created. You’d be shrewd to think there’d be some compromises for the M3 adopting a station-wagon shape, but they aren’t as onerous as you might expect. All up, the M3 Touring weighs only an extra 85-kilograms over its sedan variant.
That said, both my partner and I found the M3 Touring to be slightly trickier to slide than the sedan variant.
But honestly, who cares? The M3 touring still slides around like an absolute champion, and you’re able to put your kids and dog in the back. Although, your Labrador probably isn’t so enthused about being squished by lateral g’s, so keep it on the rink, okay?
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Motorkhana and Handling Circuit
One could have been perfectly content had the day finished after the snow drift. Although, BMW had planned for one more drill – the Motokana and handling circuit.
This would be the only competitive drill of the day. It would combine all of our experiences and skills we’d learnt so far, including emergency stopping, slalom and drifting into two competitive events, run in both the M3 and the X3.
The first competition is a sprint, where two competitors would start from opposite sides of a makeshift oval circuit, sprint in a straight line before performing a drift turn and sprinting back to stop in their opponent’s starting box. The first one to stop inside the box would win, but overshoot, and they’d get disqualified.
I had seemingly forgotten our first drill of the day, given the several disqualifications I incurred. However, for several of those sprints I was leading, so I’m treating them as a win (the instructors may beg to differ). Nevertheless, this race was great fun, but the true competition of the Motokana was up next.
The Motokana would run on an improvised handling track, involving two slaloms and two drift circles.
Even though the race would be from behind the wheel of an M3, the group had plenty of time to practice the course in both the M3 and X3. The slalom sections were performed in a drift, allowing us the group to experience the pendulum effect in each car.
Again, the M3’s ultra-capable chassis, potent powertrain and sharp throttle response made light work of the left-to-right transitions of slalom, beautifully floating through the course when you got your inputs right. The X3 wasn’t naturally as competent as the M3, with a delayed throttle response making it difficult to settle itself between transitions. Although, its crossover chassis made a mighty impressive effort, nonetheless.
After some play, it was time to get serious. There’d only be one winner.
After the Motokana had finished, our day was close to concluding. I’ll admit that after today, I have developed a fresh appreciation for the M3 and the X3. We’ve always been fans of the M3 at Drive Life. We even awarded it our Driver’s Car of the Year in 2021. However, to experience the M3 in this winter environment, particularly in the hands of Mike Eady, drove home just how outrageously capable the M3 is.
For me, the X3 was the wild card. I hadn’t driven one before this event, and yet I’ve come away from it impressed. It’s an exceptionally capable all-rounder, and although it’s soon to be replaced with a new generation, this X3 M40i is still every bit as capable as the latest and greatest.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: Conclusion
It’s remarkable what you can squeeze into a day when you’re dedicated. Within one day, we’d been up at the crack of dawn, slid around like maniacs on ice rinks in M3s and an X3, before finding myself back at Millbrook punching out adjectives into this article.
I ought to acknowledge that days like this seldom happen for many of us, let alone myself. For this, I owe a hearty thanks to the representatives from BMW Australia, BMW New Zealand, Tracktime Driver Academy and the staff of SHPG, who made this day possible.
This event is truly a one-of-a-kind automotive experience, and it’s an excellent way of honing your driving skills. It’s also a testament to how BMW’s engineers continue to push the boundaries of their vehicles, whether you’re driving one of BMW’s flagship super saloons or one of the more “ordinary” non-M cars.
The engineering, technology and all the testing underlying these cars was only made more evident on the snow, and provided me with fresh appreciation of all the efforts manufacturers like BMW will dedicate towards helping you be safer on the road.
The coolest part (pun not intended) about this event, is that BMW will allow anybody to have this experience (although their customers have priority). So, if you’re interested in this experience, get in touch with your local BMW dealer.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: The Details
The 2024 BMW M Snow & Ice Experience runs from the 20th the 29th of August. The event is anticipated to run in 2025, but dates are yet to be confirmed.
There are two experience packages available – Premium or Luxury.
The Luxury experience includes:
- One driver entry to the M Snow and Ice Event
- Two nights accommodation with breakfast at Millbrook Resort, Queenstown,
- Insurance for the event,
- Post-event functions,
- Helicopter and 4WD snow bus transfers to SHPG,
- A complimentary BMW M-branded jacket, and
- Return airport transfers from Queenstown.
The Premium experience includes:
- One driver entry to the M Snow and Ice Event
- Insurance for the event,
- 4WD snow bus transfers to SHPG, and
- A complimentary BMW M-branded jacket.
BMW M Snow and Ice Experience 2024: The Cost
2024 BMW M Snow & Ice Experience Luxury – $6,500 AUD.
2024 BMW M Snow & Ice Experience Premium – $4,500 AUD.
To learn more about the BMW M Snow and Ice Experience, or to subscribe to the wait-list, check out the BMW NZ website.
