Toyota enters EV class for Pikes Peak
A new contender will join the ranks of electric vehicles for the charge up Colorado's famous hill climbToyota has announced it will be joining the growing EV presence at the annual Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb next month in Colorado Springs.
The EV P002 electric racer succeeds the EV P001 that set a new electric car lap speed record at the Nürburgring in 2011. The culmination of what the company describes as a comprehensive testing program, the new car (pictured) is more powerful and more durable than its predecessor. Powered by a massive 42kWh lithium ceramic battery pack – that’s nearly double the capacity of a Nissan Leaf’s battery – its twin electric motors are good for a combined 350kW/900Nm. Delivered through a 2.5:1 single-cog gearbox, by Toyota’s reckoning it gives the car a top speed of around 240km/h.
On top of the instant availability of full torque, electric power has another advantage over combustion at high altitudes: it’s unaffected by oxygen levels. Toyota says that means it maintains full power even as the air thins out towards the top of the 20km run, which starts at an altitude of 2,862 metres and runs 20km to finish at the 4300-metre mountain’s summit.
Japanese rally ace Fumio Nutahara will pilot the EV P002 against some stiff competition in the electric class. Long-time Suzuki ally Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, the current outright record holder for the event, will be turning up in a purpose-built EV, while Mitsubishi is fielding a hyper-modified i-MiEV, to be driven by team boss Hiroshi Masuoka.
Starting on July 8, this year's Pike’s Peak climb will have 200 competitors across 16 classes.
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