Toyota Announces Pike's Peak Hill Climb EV
Cars scheduled to compete in the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb keep coming into focus, but this year the hot trend seems to be running electric vehicles (EVs) up the mountain.
Toyota just announced that it will enter a high-performance EV into the upcoming race alongside the cars we’ve already reported including an EV conversion E36 BMW M3 and another EV being run by storied driver “Monster” Tajima.
Called the TMG EV P002, Toyota’s entrant will use two axial flux motors to produce almost 470 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. The car is expected to have a 149 mph top speed and will be driven by Japanese rally champion Fumio Nutahara.
While the car hasn’t run in the Hill Climb before, it underwent testing in May at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France, seen in the footage below.
Considered an improvement over its previous generation which set a 9:01 lap time record for EVs on the Nurburgring, this generation is expected to be an improve with a more powerful and durable powertrain.
This car, as well as the other EVs in the race, are expected to perform well because electric motors don’t suffer performance losses as the air thins in climbing altitudes. One possible downside could be the increased weight associated with such a drivetrain, but we won’t know how the beefed-up electric cars will perform until July 8 when the race runs.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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