Renée Brinkerhoff is the kind of person many of us wish we could be. She is a bona fide petrolhead, has rallied her Porsche 356 around and she does so for humanitarian reasons. Now, she faces her toughest challenge yet as Brinkerhoff and her Porsche 356 tackles Antarctica.

Follow Double Apex on Facebook and Instagram, where we share more car content.

Order from our online store and take advantage of free delivery in South Africa on orders over R349.

Late starter

The Coloradoan mother of four started her rally career in 2013, at the age of 57. The amateur racer has already raced her Porsche 356A, which was ‘born’ the same year she was, on six continents, on every type of terrain. Since starting she has competed in endurance rallies such as Peking-to-Paris, the East African Safari Classic Rally and La Carrera Panamericana.

Read our Porsche 911 Turbo S review at this link.

At 65, she is now looking to traverse the final land mass missing from her list: Antarctica. Soon she will complete, fittingly, 356 miles (587 km) in Antarctica. Once done she will have driven nearly 32 000 km on all seven continents. The trip is scheduled to start on 5 December and should be completed before the end of the year.

“While we are extremely proud of completing each endurance rally we’ve entered, our true mission has been for our racing efforts to become a worldwide visual that supports our vocal pursuit to end child trafficking,” says Brinkerhoff. “We’ve had a goal to break barriers and set new records and we’re hopeful our Antarctic expedition will do just that.”

Check out our Porsche 911 GTS driving review here.

Massive mods

As strong as the Porsche 356A is, it was not going to drive across the harsh terrain of the Antarctic without several major modifications. 

The rear tyres of the classic Porsche were replaced with snow tracks, and a pair of skis were attached to the front along with a specialised brace and suspension system. For stabilisation, the 356 will use a single-arm suspension with coilover shocks for both the tracks in the rear. The skis and tracks can easily be removed so that spiked ice tyres can be re-fitted with no wheel alignment changes necessary. 

A noble cause

Brinkerhoff doesn’t just race for fun. She races under the banner Valkyrie Racing which is a humanitarian effort to help end child trafficking. Through Valkyries Gives, the philanthropic arm of her racing team, Brinkerhoff has raised close to half a million dollars, with 100 per cent of the proceeds benefitting victims of trafficking around the world. 

Valkyrie Racing/Valkyrie Gives would like their supporters worldwide to join them in Antarctica and be part of a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience. For a minimum donation of U$356 supporters can have their name inscribed inside the hood of the classic racer. Donations can be made directly to www.valkyrieracing.com/donate356.