(August 9, 2016) TORONTO — The AMG Driving Academy is expanding its global network with the addition of a new North American destination for its signature AMG Winter Sporting program. Formerly only offered in Sweden, close to the Polar Circle, driving enthusiasts will now be able to experience a selection of high-performance AMG vehicles on the icy surface of Lake Winnipeg in Gimli, Manitoba.

Known for its Icelandic roots, where merciless winter conditions prevail, the small town of Gimli, Manitoba, harbors a secret that will entice every driving aficionado. During the program, Lake Winnipeg will be transformed into an uncompromising, frozen terrain where adrenaline-charged curves and apexes modeled from world-famous racetracks like Laguna Seca, Mosport and Mont-Tremblant will be recreated in milled ice.

This will be the perfect environment to tackle hard, glistening sheets of ice and snow drifts in Mercedes-AMG performance vehicles donned with studded tires.

The Canadian AMG Winter Sporting program was jointly designed and curated by the AMG Driving Academy group in Affalterbach and by Driving Unlimited, a long-time partner of Mercedes-Benz Canada. Driving Unlimited manages and operates all of Mercedes-Benz's other highly successful advanced Mercedes-Benz and AMG Driving Academy programs across Canada.



The team, comprised of some of the most qualified instructors in the industry, will ensure that each participant receives the highest level of training and enjoys an experience on and off the ice that is truly commensurate with the AMG brand.

The three-day AMG Winter Sporting ADVANCED and four-day ADVANCED PLUS programs will be alternating from Jan. 30 to Feb. 27. Participants will gain valuable experience with controlled driving safety and dynamics through theoretical training, driving exercises, video analysis, and perfection training that will culminate in a final AMG "Race of Champions."

Both programs also provide exclusive access to a special onsite AMG lounge. More information is available by emailing info@amgwintersporting.com.

"For many years, the AMG Driving Academy has been a resounding success story with thousands of AMG customers who have attended its different programs in Canada and around the world. Canada is world-renowned for its natural beauty, its many lakes and, in some parts of the country, its piercing cold and highly challenging driving conditions," said JoAnne Caza, director of communications and public relations for Mercedes-Benz Canada.  

"We were not entirely surprised when AMG in Germany knocked on our door requesting assistance with this great winter driving opportunity. We look forward to welcoming AMG Winter Sporting participants from all over the world with our friendliness and a memorable, one-of-a-kind program that will provide the best of the worst driving conditions in cold weather. Of course – in AMG style at every turn."