Slow In, Fast Out: Inside Audi Club’s Seefeld Winter Driving Experience

Words and photos by Chris May

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Q2 2025 issue of quattro Magazine. Audi Club members receive both print and digital access to the magazine, with the latest issue now available online. Click here to read the full issue and explore the quattro Magazine archives.

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P.S. Reservations are now open for the next Seefeld Winter Driving Experience, taking place January 17–21, 2026. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to join fellow Audi enthusiasts for four unforgettable days of winter performance driving in the Austrian Alps—featuring seat time in the Audi S5 Avant, a sport wagon not offered in North America, and the RS e-tron GT performance, Audi’s most powerful production vehicle ever at 912 hp. Spots are limited—learn more and reserve yours today!

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In the heart of the Austrian Alps lies an otherworldly landscape, seemingly untouched by time. Towering, snow-dusted peaks rise like silent sentinels, their jagged edges cutting through the frosty blue sky. Below, a frozen plain extends, its icy surface gleaming under the pale winter sun. Suddenly, the reverent stillness is disturbed by the cacophony of revving engines, exhaust burbles, and studded tires negotiating grip. A sharp scent of rubber and exhaust mingles with the crisp, biting chill as drivers navigate a frozen course at the helm of quattro all-wheel drive. Mastering the art of car control in a chilling and unforgiving landscape: This is Audi Club’s annual Seefeld Winter Driving Experience.

Audi Club has offered the Seefeld program through Audi Driving Experience for decades. So, when our Club secured dates for 2025, I knew I wanted to experience it firsthand — not as a staff person, but as an Audi Club member, happily paying my own way. Simply referred to as “Seefeld” by veteran Club members, the former participants I’d spoken with had nothing but glowing reviews. Given its exclusivity, Seefeld had even become a bragging right for certain members, second only to having the lowest membership number. I also learned that some prior participants had received instruction from the infamous Walter Röhrl himself, further cementing the program’s pedigree. With its rich history and natural alignment with our Club’s driver education mission, Seefeld promised plenty to learn, new stories to tell and lasting friendships to forge.

As expected, the instructional vehicle lineup for Audi Driving Experiences changes every few years. We would say one of the program’s goals — and perks — is providing prospective Audi customers seat time in some of its newest models. This year, our Club’s participants would experience two brand-new Audi models: The 2025 S5 Avant and the 2025 RS e-tron GT Performance. To put that in per-spective, we’d be driving both a new longroof model not destined for this side of the pond and the fastest production Audi ever built before it lands in North America. Commanding a 912-horsepower RS-monikered Audi on ice is a bucket-list experience in itself — but more on that later.

This year’s Audi Club Seefeld group was a diverse representation of our membership from across the U.S., including father-son, father-daughter and husband-wife pairings, along with two solo travelers. In fact, one member, having participated several years ago, returned to share the experience with his son, while another celebrated his 70th birthday. Despite different backgrounds and stories, the group found much in common, all sharing a passion for Audi and a mission to improve their driving skills. Interestingly, nearly all had previous HPDE or track driving experience. That said, Seefeld attendance requires no such background, and dry-condition skills or muscle memory developed in that environment offer little, if any, immediate advantage on ice. Perhaps that’s part of the fun of this group experience? Unless you’re highly experienced driving on ice, the terrain levels the playing field, even for the competitive personalities in your party.

The morning following our arrival and welcome dinner in Munich, we traveled north to Ingolstadt for a day at Audi Forum, site of the brand’s headquarters and largest factory. There, our members experienced two tours: one exploring the the brand’s history at Museum Mobile and another, The Fascination of Production tour, which offered a firsthand look at the Q6 e-tron assembly — from body panel pressing to final touches. Spending nearly a full day at Audi Forum, it’s impossible not to leave with a renewed excitement for the brand. This rang true for our group as we departed Ingolstadt by tour bus for our resort accommodations in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria. The 4-star Krumers Alpin resort would serve as our home base for the next two days of ice driving instruction.

Our first morning in Seefeld began with a classroom session led by our instructor and host, Stefan. Covering the fundamentals of our programming, he provided background and specific operating instructions for the two vehicles we would be driving. Stefan’s experience was evident, and his communication and instructional style were clear and approachable. Our group’s objectives were simple:

Through hands-on training, we would progressively build individual car control skills over the two-day course. At the conclusion of the classroom session, Stefan smiled and said, “By the way, there will be a final exam.” As classmates exchanged glances, we asked ourselves, “Was he joking?” We would find out soon enough.

With our driving partners at our side, we headed to the resort’s garage to pick up our S5 Avants before caravaning a short drive to a nearby park to begin our ice driving instruction. We later discovered that sections of the park, including our ice field course, were maintained by the Audi Driving Experience team. It was clear they take great care in preparing the surface to ensure optimal ice driving conditions. A dedicated support team even remained on the field during the driving exercises, configuring cones for each session and repositioning any that were knocked over. It all makes for a very efficient and streamlined experience for the guest drivers.

In our partner driver pairings, we took turns practicing several different exercises designed to help us acclimate to the S5’s behavior on the ice. From learning how to “kick-down” the throttle to induce a slide to navigating slalom exercises, each activity built upon the last in an engaging and complementary way. A group favorite was the emergency braking exercise, which challenged us to react to one of two lights mounted on the car’s dash, controlled by Stefan. Drivers couldn’t anticipate when or in which direction the light would flash, but when it did, we were to brake as hard and fast as our legs could muster, veer towards the opposite direction to avoid a cone and then return to center. We were to continue braking through the maneuver until coming to a complete stop within a designated zone. Though it might sound complicated or intense, everyone quickly got the hang of it. The dash-mounted tool even reported our reaction times for braking.

Towards the end of the day, Stefan introduced us to power sliding and drifting through turns, giving everyone ample opportunity to induce wheel-spin and enjoy some sideways travel in the S5 Avant. This was just a preview for the advanced driving techniques we’d practice the following day. As we concluded our first day of training, the group was all smiles, and, over dinner, we shared stories — both personal and car-related — while reflecting on our day together on the ice.

Day two introduced us to the Audi RS e-tron GT Performance. If memory serves, this was everyone’s first time behind the wheel of an e-tron GT, let alone an RS or Performance spec. Besides being an EV platform, a key difference from the S5 Avant was the equipped tires. Both vehicles wore studded tires for our driving exercises, but since the e-tron is significantly heavier and more powerful, its tires required longer studs. Sadly, this meant the e-tron’s tires were not street-legal, so unlike the S5 Avant, we didn’t get to drive them to and from the resort. Considering the significant horsepower and torque differential between the two cars, the longer studs on the e-tron’s tires offered more grip compared to the S5 Avant, but that all depended on how you drove the car. The e-tron’s 900+ horsepower ensured wheel spin was easily achievable with the appropriate throttle input.

The RS e-tron GT Performance surprised many group members. Whether it was the fit and finish of the cockpit-like interior with forged carbon fiber inlay accents or the active suspension that raised and lowered the car for easier entry and egress, it was universally understood this was no ordinary EV. Conveying what it feels like to drive a car of such technological prowess on a sheet of ice is difficult, but the word “cheatcode” comes to mind.

The RS e-tron GT Performance was incredibly well-mannered when you wanted it to be and outright rowdy if called upon. At times, it almost felt too good in terms of the grip it offered. Personally, after driving it through various exercises, I felt it would be more enjoyable to drive in a real-world setting. Without traction, we weren’t fully experiencing its immense power — a notion that likely lingered in the back of all our minds. That said, the S5 Avant made it slightly easier to produce predictable drifts or slides. We couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but we suspect it came down to several factors — vehicle weight, tire stud length differential or simply that many of us were more accustomed with modulating the throttle of a turbo-charged ICE engine in these conditions. At any rate, each vehicle had its pros and cons, and both were equally fun to drive for slightly different reasons.

Throughout the day, we alternated between the two Audis for different exercises. The group’s favorite exercise? Probably the Scandinavian Flick. If you’re unfamiliar, this maneuver is like initiating a simple drift around a turn, but with one key difference. At the turn’s entry, you sharply steer away from the intended direction to transfer the car’s weight, then quickly turn the wheel back towards the corner, initiating a slide. The throttle is then used to modulate wheel spin, maintaining the slide as you rotate around the apex. If you’ve ever watched Group B rally racing footage, you’ve seen this technique regularly implemented by many of the greats. We spent a healthy share of our time perfecting this technique, knowing it would be important to master if we hoped to be competitive for our “final exam.”

“Slow in, fast out.” This is a phrase Stefan communicated to us all during the exercises, usually when we were carrying too much speed before entering a turn, and typically followed by, “Remember, there’s a brake pedal.” Of course, this advice is nothing new if you’ve experienced any kind of high-performance driving instruction. It often works well for beginners — sacrificing entry speed to optimize the vehicle’s position for a faster exit. In this case, the constantly-changing conditions throughout the day — temperature shifts, sunlight, freezing rain, and the quality of the ice after repeated runs — all factors that influenced vehicle traction, especially during braking or turning on the course. Understanding this strategy would also be key in preserving our final exam scores.

Our final exam consisted of a timed run through a larger coned course, which challenged us to implement nearly every skill we’d learned over the two days. The “slow in, fast out” philosophy became more critical to consider, as any cones we touched or moved would result in time penalties. We probably could’ve spent entire days power sliding, drifting around the course and perfecting our times — it was that much fun. After everyone had completed their timed runs, Stefan gave each of us for a front seat ridealong to demonstrate how fast a professional could navigate the course. It’s safe to say we all left a lot of time out there on the ice.

During our farewell dinner that evening, our final exam times were announced, and prizes were awarded. Bragging rights were honored, and a birthday was celebrated. This was truly an experience like no other. What’s more, 10 of us became new friends with shared plans to visit Finland for the next level of ice driving instruction with Audi Driving Experience in 2026. (Stay tuned for an article about that experience in a future issue of quattro magazine.)

Audi Club’s Seefeld Winter Driving experience is more than exciting seat time in a new model Audi — it’s an opportunity to broaden your horizons, forge new Club friendships and create lifelong memories.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Seefeld Winter Driving Experience with Audi Club or joining our January 2026 tour, spots are filling fast—learn more and reserve your place today!