Millen to contest Pikes Peak in megawatt EV

This year's running of the 'Race to the Clouds' at Pikes Peak in Colorado will see Rhys Millen – famed steerer and son of another well known name, Rod Millen – participate in a 1020kW electric vehicle named the eO PP03.

Developed by a Latvian firm, Drive eO, the PP03 packs in a 50kWh lithium-ion battery pack and six YASA-400 electric motors. It's not the first time Drive eO has campaigned at Pikes Peak, the company having previously prepped a Tesla Roadster for its assault on the mountain. But this is the company's first attempt with a vehicle of its own design.

Millen (pictured) is getting behind the wheel of the PP03 with the specific target in mind of an outright win – beating conventionally-powered vehicles, in other words. If successful, the PP03 will be the first EV to win the event outright.

"In ideal conditions we must be capable of setting a race time below nine minutes," Millen believes.

Millen Jr has over 20 years of experience under his belt, having competed in rallying – like his dad – drifting and hillclimbs. He has been a works driver for Mitsubishi, GM and Hyundai, as well as displaying his skills on film as a lead stunt driver in 'The Dukes of Hazzard' and more than one 'Fast & Furious' movie.

"We are very proud to announce Rhys as our driver," said Kristaps Dambis, project director at Drive eO.

"It was great to see him very excited straight away and his involvement in the project has already benefited us massively. He's brought his experience of 4WD race car preparation and setup and also insider knowledge of Pikes Peak peculiarities.

"He is taking the project very seriously and is coming up with useful ideas to beat the competition this year. Overall it is certainly a great acknowledgement of our past work that Rhys puts his faith in our team to develop a race winning car!"

Testing of the prototype, which is currently being assembled, will commence from May.