FAT Ice Race Turns Big Sky Into America’s Winter Motorsport Capital
Malte_Dressel
Montana is about to hear engines echo across frozen terrain.
On February 27–28, FAT International, the motorsports and lifestyle platform founded by Ferdi Porsche, will stage its FAT Ice Race at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, transforming one of the American West’s most cinematic landscapes into a high-speed laboratory for culture, design and performance. What began in 1952 on the frozen lake of Zell am See, Austria, has evolved into a global phenomenon—one that now positions Montana as a defining checkpoint in the modern motorsport calendar.
The FAT Ice Race has always been less about competition in the traditional sense and more about convergence. In Big Sky, that convergence takes on distinctly American proportions. More than 50 vehicles will compete across multiple race formats, with another 50 on display throughout the grounds. Hot laps and show drives will unfold against snow-capped peaks, while aerial precision performances from Red Bull inject spectacle into the alpine stillness.
Yet the weekend’s real currency is cultural capital.
An unlikely but intentional roster of participants underscores FAT International’s thesis that car culture now sits at the intersection of music, art, performance and design. Multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated artist Don Toliver will take to the ice driving his Porsche 911 Dakar under the umbrella of Porsche Cars North America. Contemporary artist Daniel Arsham—known for reimagining objects as future relics—joins professional drift racer Sara Choi, race car driver and media personality Emelia Hartford, and filmmaker-photographer Jeff Zwart in a curated lineup that reflects motorsport’s expanding identity.
“Bringing FAT Ice Race to Montana is super special,” Porsche said in a statement. “Big Sky offers the perfect playground to continue the spirit we built in Zell am See. There’s nothing quite like driving incredible cars on a frozen track, embracing the chaos, and celebrating car culture with old and new friends in an environment like this.”
That spirit of controlled chaos will extend beyond the track. The weekend opens with “FAT CARS, BIG SKY,” a public meet-up in Town Center Plaza that democratizes access to rare vehicles typically reserved for private collections and concours lawns. It is a calculated gesture—one that aligns with FAT International’s positioning as both insider and instigator.
Brand partners will amplify that positioning through immersive activations. Bentley will bring its Bentayga X Concept stateside following its debut in Zell am See, complete with a Bambino-sized kart signaling its partnership with the FAT Karting League. Nike’s All Conditions Gear (ACG) division will stage “Man vs. Machine,” pitting athlete Liam Meirow against an All Conditions Test Vehicle in a terrain-driven performance challenge. Mobil 1, Nissan, Rivian and others will activate across the ice, turning the mountain basin into a temporary village of mechanical experimentation and branded storytelling.
Even finance and luxury hospitality players recognize the alignment. JP Morgan and Moët Hennessy will join a sponsor roster that reflects how motorsport gatherings have evolved into cross-industry platforms for influence and engagement.
The setting itself is strategic. With support from Lone Mountain Land Company, FAT Ice Race extends beyond Aspen’s 2024 U.S. debut and taps into Big Sky’s expanding reputation as a luxury-adventure corridor. In doing so, it mirrors the trajectory of global events that fuse experiential retail, performance engineering and community-building into a singular destination moment.
FAT International’s broader ambitions are also on display. The newly formed FAT Racing Department will preview its first-ever F4 car ahead of its British Formula 4 debut this spring—a signal that the platform is not merely staging spectacles, but actively investing in competitive pipelines and emerging talent. From the FAT Karting League to full-scale formula entries, the brand is constructing a vertically integrated ecosystem that links grassroots development to high-performance racing.
At its core, the FAT Ice Race remains a study in contrast: heritage and reinvention, precision and play, exclusivity and openness. On ice, traction is limited. Control is relative. But that tension is precisely the point. It forces drivers—and brands—to adapt in real time.
For two days in February, Big Sky becomes more than a resort town. It becomes a proving ground for how motorsport can function as a cultural engine. And if FAT International succeeds, Montana won’t just host a race. It will anchor a new chapter in the globalization of winter car culture.
(c) Christian Wieners
(c) Lukas Gansterer
(c) Malte Dressel
