A pristine 1956 Porsche 356A today could be worth in excess of £200,000.

But instead of preserving the classic German sportscar, one racer has converted hers into a snowmobile.

Renée Brinkerhoff, an American philanthropist racing driver, is preparing for the final stage of her Project 356 World Rally Tour in Antarctica, which involves sprinting in her vintage Porsche across the most extreme terrain yet.

Fitted with snowtracks at the rear and a pair of skis at the front, the 65-year-old car and driver will complete their 'ultimate test' in December when they take on the last leg of the tour - a 356-mile (by coincidence) race in icy conditions, including the Union Glacier.

Brinkerhoff is the daughter of a diplomat and Colorado-based mother of four turned amateur racer in 2013 at the tender age of 57.

Her classic car - which was built in the same year she was born - has been altered various times to take on different environments in order to compete in endurance rallies around the globe over the course of five years.

The final stage has seen the team - Valkyrie Racing - convert the ageing vehicle into a 'Polar Porsche' to take on its most difficult environment yet.

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.'

The Porsche is already in transit to Chile via ship from its workshop in the UK and, upon arrival, will be air-shipped to the extreme conditions that await at the Union Glacier in Antarctica.

Brinkerhoff and the Valkyrie Racing team will rendezvous in Chile at the end of November, and if the weather cooperates the subzero sprint will begin in Antarctica on 5 December and should be completed before the end of the year.

The long-awaited Antarctica race was pushed from late 2020, and the more than 18 months of planning has also allowed the naturally-aspirated flat six 356 to undergo a complete re-engineering for the treacherous terrain.

'Success for Renée and her car will come from the thoughtful balance of appropriate technology we've added, and the mass reduction implemented,' says Kieron Bradley, senior chassis design engineer for the project and a practiced extreme explorer in his own right.

The car's engine had already been uprated from the standard 1.6-litre 59 horsepower unit, which would have been inadequate for a racing machine.

The powerplant has been upgraded to a flat-six 2.0-litre boxer engine, based on the Type 4 motor from the Porsche 914.

It also boasts dual Weber carburetors for a higher maximum power output of 152hp - almost three times what it originally had.

It has also been mated to a faster-shifting five-speed manual transmission, while other upgrades include four-wheel disc brakes and a limited-slip differential.

But for its latest excursion, more dramatic modifications have been required.

The Project 356 World Rally Tour is both an expedition and a humanitarian effort, and the December 2021 challenge completes the ultimate endeavor by one woman, one car and one global mission 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.

Bradley replaced the rear tyres of the vehicle 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.

While the addition of skis and tracks has increased the overall mass of the 356 – an issue because a low weight is key to driving over the ice rather than sinking in – the mass per square inch, or footprint, has been reduced to less than four per cent of the standard wheel displacement.

'The ski we've created must do 40 to 50 per cent of the work, by compacting and prepping the snow for the track unit to follow over, with the underside blade guiding the direction.

'This ensures the tracks will not submarine under the light snow,' explains Bradley.

An extra thought that Bradley had to consider was that the skis and tracks must be easily removable so that spiked ice tyres can be re-fitted with no wheel alignment changes necessary.

'A pneumatic inflatable jack will be used to make the change.'

The same car was extensively rebuilt six years ago after Brinkerhoff suffered a major shunt competing in her beloved Porsche.

During the 2015 La Carrera Panamericana - a 2,000-mile rally in Mexico - the amateur racer struck a guardrail when she took evasive action to avoid hitting a crowd of bystanders, badly damaging her Porsche 356 in the process.

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