Powder Burn: The F.A.T. Ice Race Comes To Aspen
The crisp, still winter air of the Rockies was suddenly split by the peal of a 650 hp Chevy LS V-8, as a low slung, bug eyed beast, looking vaguely like a mad scientist's Porsche 911, pulled on to the track. Oilstainlab's Half11 prototype had come to play in the snow.
It was the first day of F.A.T. International's premier stateside Ice Race, and in a field that included a Porsche 550 Spyder and a 964 Carrera 4 Lightweight, not to mention the Le Mans-winning Porsche GT1-98 (and Stéphane Ortelli, one of its three winning drivers), the Half11 stood out. The brainchild of twin brothers Iliya and Nikita Bridan, Oilstainlab co-founders and friends of AETHER, the Half11 features a hand-fabricated aluminum body atop a custom tubular steel frame designed by Joe Scarbo of Scarbo Performance.
"Once we arrived on track, it was time to go fast, make noise, and of course impress all the locals," Nikita told us after the race. "The skinny winter tires were always grasping for grip, tearing up the soft snow, and creating a visual spectacle. Surely one of the most fun races we have ever been part of."
The Half11 also wore an AETHER livery—that's because when we heard that F.A.T. International was bringing its signature Ice Race to Aspen we knew we had to be a part of it. The event, traditionally held in Zell am See, Austria, is headed up by none other than Ferdi Porsche, great-grandson of company founder Ferdinand Porsche. Ferdi turned F.A.T., once a French logistics company that sponsored LeMans-winning Porsche 962s in the 1990s, into a modern automotive lifestyle brand and revived the Ice Race five years ago after a nearly 50 year hiatus. In Austria, the race is as known for its afterparties as its covetable cars, with DJs spinning '90s rap to rooms full of 20-somethings in vintage automotive gear.
Located 25 minutes outside of Aspen, and capped at just 499 attendees, the US event brought a diverse group of '80s and '90s motorsports lovers together for two days of ice course racing. That included the AETHER team, who were there to take in the action, capture the Half11's performance, and kick off the two days with an aprés party at our Aspen store.
"I’ve loved cars since I was a little kid, but I never thought of putting race cars on a snowy track," said AETHER co-founder, Jonah Smith. "The amount of amazement and excitement around the Half11 was incredible. I truly loved being a small part of their team and getting to ride shotgun around the track—what a crazy dream!"
