From a motoring perspective, few things are more incongruous - or thrilling - than driving a high-performance luxury car around a circuit on the traction-free surface of a frozen lake in Finland.

Based on that unusual premise, Bentley Motors hatched its Power on Ice winter driving programme, which gives city slickers and new Bentley owners the chance to experience the sort of conditions usually reserved for hardcore rally drivers and madcap speed skaters.

After a successful first run in Sweden in 2006, Power on Ice moved to Finland for a second winter earlier this year. Despite the vagaries of global weather patterns these days, it is a relatively sure bet that February temperatures in Finnish Lapland, just south of the Arctic Circle, will be well below freezing.

At an average of about minus-25 degrees Celsius, it ensures that the ice covering the lakes will be at least 50 cm thick - safe enough to hold a fleet of 2,400 kg Bentley Continental GTs.

At Lake Torankijarvi, not far from the popular ski resort of Kuusamo and just 40 km from the Russian border, four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen's driving academy offers expert instruction on how to handle difficult and extreme driving conditions.

Power on Ice comprises two full days of driving exercises on a series of different circuits designed by Kankkunen. There are speed ovals, circles and figure eights, slalom courses, braking exercises and even a mini-race track, all intended to fully test drivers and cars on the ice.

The main objective is to avoid going off-track and slamming a fine specimen of automotive engineering into the snow banks on either side of every circuit.

The Continental GT has a six-litre twin-turbo engine with 552 hp and all-wheel-drive. Even with the Pirelli P Zero tyres, each with 700 metal studs embedded in the tread for extra grip, it is almost impossible to stop sliding or spinning into the snow. This will then be followed by the ignominy of digging the car out with a shovel, or worse, having to call for the recovery tractor.

Each of the cars has an instructor to demonstrate the 'proper' way to drive on ice. It takes a particular combination of induced oversteer, throttle control and zen-like calm behind the steering wheel to effect a perfect power slide through a curve.

It is all easier said than done, but by the end of the first day, I am reasonably adept at causing the wheels to throw up huge sprays of snow and ice in a mostly futile effort to avoid ploughing into a snow bank. Even so, Kankkunen's parting words at the initial briefing provide ample motivation: 'By the end of the course, you will learn how to stay away from concrete walls.'

Towards the end of the second day, my ability to drift sideways around curves has improved marginally, thanks to my instructor Kalle Patsi, a young Finn who nonchalantly reveals that he started driving on frozen lakes and grassy fields when he was about seven years old.

This is common, apparently, among people in this part of the country, and it helps to explain why Scandinavians are such skilled rally drivers. Patsi's father was a rally driver and so is he. Quite probably, his future son will be too, but Patsi is only 21, so he's in no hurry to settle down.

Power on Ice is a companion piece to the Bentley Driving Experience, which also involves a summer driving programme on European race tracks. Given the positive response to the programme from customers who are willing to fork over around 7,000 euros (S$14,000) for the privilege, Bentley says it will continue to hold the winter driving programme at Kuusamo, where Kankkunen says that the ice is guaranteed to be thick enough.

Unless you're planning a career as a professional rally driver, or live in a frozen wasteland, chances are you won't have too many opportunities to perform a motorised version of Disney on Ice. Bentley, however, will do its best to keep you cool and comfortable - and I'm not just referring to the frigid temperatures.

The Bentleys at Kuusamo included an Arnage T and a couple of Continental Flying Spurs for variety, but they were not necessarily the fastest vehicles on the lake - because snowmobile racing is also a popular activity here.

Racing skidoos, as they are called, can go from zero to 100 kmh in just over four seconds and reach speeds of 200 kmh or more. Somehow, I'm not surprised to learn that Patsi's brother Teemu is the reigning Finnish snowmobile champion.

The Power on Ice programme allows for a session or two on skidoos and also a dog sled run through a picturesque snow-covered pine forest. With the wind-chill factor reaching minus-35 degrees C or more, the plush and well-insulated cabin of a Bentley is the smart choice. No matter how you look at it, Power on Ice is memorably up to the marque.