History

In 1985, a group of Scottish and British sportsmen drove to St.Moritz with their Vintage Bentleys to celebrate the Cresta Run’s centennial. Part of the celebration was held by driving their cars around the horse-racing track over the frozen lake of St.Moritz.

Among the stunned onlookers was our Founder and Patron, Marco Makaus, and this scene fired his imagination and kept burning for many years.

A test edition was held in 2019, and the concept and project were honed and refined over the two Covid years.

Finally, in February 2022, the first edition of The I.C.E. St.Moritz was held with great success, and work has already started to prepare the next editions.

The I.C.E. St. Moritz is a cultural & lifestyle automotive event, held in the most unconventional venue

The I.C.E. St.Moritz represents essentially a completely new formula in a sector with many similar events being held around the world.

For decades, vintage car events have been either based around driving (either competitively or touristically) or showing and judging cars according to their condition or restoration. Most events take place in the summer within elegant luxury surroundings.

The I.C.E. has been created by mixing St.Moritz’s strong relationship with vintage and classic cars –developed through many successful summer events, great roads and driving conditions, and a large number of cars being kept in the area – with its unrivalled experience in the organisation of sophisticated sporting events.

A unique mix of static showing and the dynamic; with the cars being driven on the ice and snow allows us to create a different sort of Concours, with a sportier and “down-to-ice” atmosphere.

The fact that it takes place in a period of the year during which old cars are generally not used, and in a place that for nine months a year does not even exist, gives The I.C.E. an adventurous character and helps create this unique atmosphere.

Technically speaking the cars do not run any risk, as obviously there is no salt nor traffic on the lake, but preparing car and tyres, shipping the car to St.Moritz, getting there, and then driving from terra ferma to the lake, especially for those who know the area, takes some time, organisation and a bit of guts too. It’s an adventure.

As you drive over the ramp you realise that under your wheels you have something like 20 cm. of snow, 50 cm. of ice, and up to fifty metres of water… you can’t avoid a little thrill. It’s early and still almost dark, quite cold and the frozen snow crackles under your tyres like the best stately home gravel, but with a sound of its own.

Slowly the Parc Fermé fills with mouth-watering classic automobiles, while the temporary absence of the public allows the participants a unique vision of these automotive treasures, and suddenly the typical St.Moritz sun says hello from the mountains above.

But the long wait is over also for many keen enthusiasts and they start to reach the lake in their thousands as soon as the engines start playing their music.

Together, owners and public create a unique atmosphere.

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WHAT MAKES THE I.C.E. ST.MORITZ SO SPECIAL

The I.C.E. St. Moritz has proved that there is room for one more high-level International classic car event that provides a thoroughly new experience to the participants, the public and the industry, since:

  • Takes place in a completely different period of the year (February)
  • Is based in a different country and location vis-à-vis the most important existing events
  • Is held in an area that, for nine months of the year, is almost forgotten
  • Has a completely different kind of programme, mixing culture, show and extreme driving
  • Offers fun for everyone, in the middle of this top Alpine town, which offers everything else (sports, art, culture, haute cuisine...) in addition to the event’s program.

The key to the event is to gather TOGETHER great people and make sure they have fun by doing something unusual in a unique setting. There is a friendly atmosphere for everyone involved: for die-hard car enthusiasts, glamorous ladies, families and even dogs!