Maserati Has Helped Break A Crazy Snowboard Speed Record

Maserati has helped a British thrill-seeker set a new world record for the fastest speed achieved on a snowboard while being towed by a vehicle.

Okay, so it’s not quite the men’s 100m final at the Olympics, but it’s a lot more dangerous if it goes wrong. A Levante SUV towed snowboarder Jamie Barrow across the frozen Swiss lake of St Moritz at a peak single-run speed of 94.18mph.

A second run in the opposite direction is always necessary to satisfy Guinness World Records officials on any speed-related record attempt. After that second, slower pass was aggregated with the first, the new record speed was set at 92.99mph.

The speed-measured section was just 100m long, but 400m extra either side of that allowed the bizarre train to get up to speed – and slow down safely without causing the pro snowboarder to face-plant the rear windscreen.

The Levante wore Pirelli Scorpion winter tyres, studded with 474 4mm-long metal teeth per tyre for maximum purchase on the ice. You really wouldn’t want to be run over by one, though. Partly thanks to them, the new speed record breaks the previous best of 62mph (also set by the slightly bonkers Barrow) by over 30mph.

An unexpected highlight of the press release that brought us this story is the use of ‘piste-bashers’, which were employed to prepare the frozen lake for the record attempt. Not being a skiist I hadn’t heard of such things before, but piste-basher might just be my new favourite phrase…