For Pikes Peak this year, Porsche looked to reset the record books by throwing seven-time Pikes Peak Champion Jeff Zwart behind the wheel of the 911 GT2 RS. But to make it even more exciting, they had Zwart pick up the car from Porsche Motorsport in Santa Ana, CA and drive it 1,132 miles to the start line of America’s second oldest race in anticipation of setting new records.

While the achievement of besting his 2010 record setting run by 10 seconds and setting the fastest street-legal car ever at Pikes Peak is amazing enough, the video that Porsche produced of the journey is simply one-of-a-kind. From the adventure of getting to Pikes Peak to the actual car footage of it setting the record is simply incredible. Porsche did a fantastic job of capturing the elegance and beauty of Pikes Peak, while showing the exhilaration and danger of racing up the famed mountain.

Check out the video after the jump:

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“Monster” Tajima’s record-setting Pikes Peak car was heavily sponsored by GoPro Cameras, which is why it’s no surprise that they’re letting us experience the glory of the sub-10-minute run for ourselves.

Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special was outfitted with multiple cameras, capturing every angle of the epic run. GoPro’s dedicated team of boffins is editing the footage right now—good luck boys, and I’ll buy you a Red Bull Sugarfree for your efforts—but what we do have right now is the most important angle of all: the front view out the cockpit, shot on the GoPro Hero in full, glorious 1080p HD.

Watch Tajima storm the tarmac after the jump.

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The all-electric Nissan Leaf had a triumphant outing at Pikes Peak this past weekend, netting itself the win in the electric production class with Chad Hord behind the wheel. Even though it didn’t claim the EV record that AC Propulsion did, the Leaf proved to be a formidable production race car turning in a time of 14 minutes and 33 seconds.

As expected, the Leaf was basically stock except for some interior safety modifications and a more aggressive set of wheels and tires. A huge advantage that the all-electric Leaf had as it climbed up Pikes Peak was the fact that it suffered no power loss due to the thin air towards the summit. Traditional internal combustion engines are known to suffer as much as a 30-percent performance loss towards the top of the hill.

Nissan also had to equip their race car with a high-pitched warning beeper to caution spectators, photographers and workers that the Leaf was approaching. It must have truly been an interesting sight to see the Leaf zip by without a single sound other than that of tires squealing.

Along with the Leaf’s triumphant run up the famed Colorado summit, this past weekend’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb recorded several records, including Monster Tajima breaking the 10-minute barrier, and Jeff Zwart setting the street legal car record with an 11:07.869 in his Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

GALLERY: Pikes Peak Nissan Leaf

While Nobuhiro Tajima’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak has been capturing all the attention after finally breaking the sub-1o minute mark for the first time ever, but another record was set at the famed Colorado mountain this weekend in something much more accessible to mere mortals.

Legendary Porsche shoe Jeff Zwart took a 911 GT2 RS up the mountain in 11:07.869, setting a new record for street legal cars. Zwart’s time was 6 seconds behind Rod Millen’s Hyundai Genesis Coupe race car, which took the overall win in 2WD Time Attack. Zwart noted that “we fell three seconds short of beating an all-out race car that is hundreds of pounds lighter with no street safety or emission equipment,” and felt confident that the record would stand for years to come.

[Source: Motor Trend]

AC Propulsion, a global leader in electric drive design, development and manufacturing, announced today that the Yokohama-sponsored electric race car using AC Propulsion’s proprietary electric drive system broke it’s own record set last year at the 88th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

The electronic race car won the hill climb’s Exhibition Class and set a new EV record, coming in at 12:20:084, beating last year’s 13:17:575 record. The car was also the race’s fastest EV among both cars and motorcycles.

“AC Propulsion electric drive systems deliver performance,” said AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage. “Our string of Pikes Peak EV records–especially this one, where we are well into the 12-minute bracket–clearly demonstrates that electric vehicles can get up the hill fast. Now that more people are buying EVs, it’s important to offer really good performance. For us, the old racing slogan holds: win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”

This year’s 89th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is comprised of racing to the 4,301-meter summit, covering 12.4-miles. Road conditions vary based on rapidly changing temperatiures and weather as well as combination of tarmac/ gravel surfaces and 156 turns.

The Yokohama EV is a rear-wheel drive, open-wheel race car . The AC-180 motor cranks out 268-hp at 6000-7000 rpm and has 258 lb-ft of torque.

“B-Spec Rally Fit” and “Desert Pilot” sound like the names of Steven Seagal characters, but they’re actually Honda’s attempt to tackle the 89th annual Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.

The Rally Fit is a modified version of the Fit that aims to keep things as stock as possible, while the Desert Pilot makes no pretentions about its purpose-built roots.

The Fit is designed for rallycross and stage rallying, and features a roll cage, new suspension, 205/50R15 BFGoodrich R1 tires, and camber adjusters. It debuted at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill last year and will feature parts available from Honda Performance Development available at dealers.

The Desert Pilot stems from Honda’s CR-R stock Honda Ridgeline entries in the Baja 1000, which won in its class twice. It features a tubular space-frame chassis built around a modified version of Honda’s 3.7-liter V6, churning 400 horsepower behind the drivers. Widened bodywork, four-wheel independent suspension with King shocks, and 35-inch BF Goodrich tires turn the Pilot into something a little cooler than your aunt’s Home Depot shuttle.

Both are expected to race at Pikes Peak on July 26th. After that, the Desert Pilot will race in Class 6 in a variety of off-road events, finishing with the Baja 1000. The B-Spec Fit will be raced in more rallycross events.

Click the jump to see what the Fit looks like.

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Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima is no stranger to Pikes Peak: he’s won the International Hill Climb five times, and currently holds the record for the fastest time up the mountain. This year, he’s aiming to win again, and who is his greatest opponent? Himself.

The current best time up the 12.42-mile course is 10:01.408, set by Monster himself in 2007.  Cracking the 10-minute mark is the Holy Grail, the motorsports equivalent of the four-minute mile—but just as that challenge was cracked in 1954, so too will Pikes Peak be conquered in under 10 minutes.

Tajima is driving once again for Suzuki, this time in an SX4 Hill Climb Special with 910 horsepower. He will face challenges from Paul Dallenbach, Dave Carapetyan and Rhys Millen, who was favored to be the event’s front-runner last year in his Hyundai Genesis coupe but ultimately proved to be a dud. The festivities begin this Friday, June 24th, and the racing starts on the 26th in Colorado Springs.

What better way to spend more time on the trace track than to build one in your own back yard. Or better still, your front yard, as your driveway, tempting you to set a new record lap every time you return home.

That’s exactly what former Pikes Peak record holder Rod Millen has done at his New Zealand ranch.

The track itself is over a mile long, although definitely not up to FIA regulations when it comes to the width. It took several years to complete, and incorporates several traits from other Hillclimb events, including the treacherous Pikes Peak and the Goodwood Festival of Speed – where he reportedly came up with the idea in 2002.

Recently completed, Millen invited friends and fellow racers to his “Leadfoot Ranch,” where he hosted the first ever running up his driveway (the Leadfoot Festival) in celebration of his 60th birthday.

Wish you could have been there? We do too. So it’s a good thing Millen videotaped his run in his 800-hp Toyota Celica race car.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Watch the video after the jump:

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Earlier in the month we heard about Dallenbach Racing teaming up with Bank’s Power to bring a 1,300-hp beast to Pikes Peak’s Unlimited Class. Excitement was brewing and it looks like Dallenbach Racing is smart enough to feed our appetite for speed with more teasers showing just how potent their machine is and how ready they are to break the 9-minute mark before anyone else does.

They took their Banks Powered machine to Pikes Peak for two qualifying runs and made sure to include several cameras mounted on the car to send video back to all those who aren’t fortunate enough to witness it in person. And of course the 1,307-hp machine is everything we imagined as it uses its twin-turbo power to soar up the infamous hill.

It’s probably been a while since this much excitement was churning out for Pikes Peak’s Hill Climb. We’ll be sure to follow-up on the results and hopefully it won’t be disappointing.

Check out a video of the 1,307-hp monster making its qualifying runs.

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While little known on our shores, the Dacia Duster is a popular crossover in Eastern Europe. In two weeks time, however, it will get plenty of attention here, as it races to the clouds in the annual Pikes Peak hill climb.

The rally car race version of the Duster couldn’t be further from the production model, however, with typically small Euro-spec engine being replaced by a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 out of the Nissan GT-R. Making 850-hp the motor now also sits behind the driver in a mid-engine configuration.

Set to be piloted by Jean-Phillipe Dayraut, the Dacia Duster “No Limit” race car recently underwent testing and the team has some wild video to show of just how powerful this machine is.

Watch the video after the jump:

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