The 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb just got a lot more interesting. It seems Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima has teamed up with Rimac Automobili to turn his Monster Sport E-Runner into a megawatt machine, changing the 93rd running of the "Race to the Clouds" from a man-against-mountain affair into more of a man-against-man-against-mountain story. More on that other man in a bit.
The electric supercar maker has been dropping photos (see the gallery below) and hints about a special project for the past few weeks, causing us to scratch our heads in frustration. Now, with the release of this teaser video, we're pretty sure we know what our favorite crazy Croatians have been up to, and it's pretty awesome.
We don't have all the details yet, but from what we can see, we're looking at the aluminum and carbon fiber E-Runner with an all-wheel-drive powertrain, boasting electronic torque vectoring and more than 1,000 kW (1,341 horsepower) waiting to be unleashed on the 12.42-mile asphalt ribbon that winds its way up a certain Colorado mountain. Top speed is unknown, but the video reveals it goes at least 156 miles per hour. It's probably higher.
This Rimac-reinvigorated race car now sets up an electric rematch between Rhys Millen and the Monster. Back in 2010 and 2011, Tajima-san was driving a 910-hp Suzuki SX4 while the prodigy progeny of racer Rod Millen – and, incidentally, brother of Ryan Millen, who will be driving a specially-prepared Toyota Rav4 EV up the mountain this year – was in a 700-hp Hyundai Genesis PM580. The Japanese driver won both years, breaking the sub-10-minute mark for the first time ever in the process.
This time the two seem more evenly matched. Millen is taking the wheel of the new megawatt Drive eO PP03. Also equipped with all-wheel drive, the six Yasa motors in the Latvian entry can pump out 1,368 hp with a top speed of 162 mph.
There will be other electric entries, including a trio of cars from Entrophy Racing and some motorcycles, but the Monster versus Millen match up will be the one to watch. Mitsubishi has decided to not return to the climb this year, after crushing it in 2014. If we get more details about he improved E-Runner before the June 28 race date, we'll pass them along.
The electric supercar maker has been dropping photos (see the gallery below) and hints about a special project for the past few weeks, causing us to scratch our heads in frustration. Now, with the release of this teaser video, we're pretty sure we know what our favorite crazy Croatians have been up to, and it's pretty awesome.
We don't have all the details yet, but from what we can see, we're looking at the aluminum and carbon fiber E-Runner with an all-wheel-drive powertrain, boasting electronic torque vectoring and more than 1,000 kW (1,341 horsepower) waiting to be unleashed on the 12.42-mile asphalt ribbon that winds its way up a certain Colorado mountain. Top speed is unknown, but the video reveals it goes at least 156 miles per hour. It's probably higher.
This Rimac-reinvigorated race car now sets up an electric rematch between Rhys Millen and the Monster. Back in 2010 and 2011, Tajima-san was driving a 910-hp Suzuki SX4 while the prodigy progeny of racer Rod Millen – and, incidentally, brother of Ryan Millen, who will be driving a specially-prepared Toyota Rav4 EV up the mountain this year – was in a 700-hp Hyundai Genesis PM580. The Japanese driver won both years, breaking the sub-10-minute mark for the first time ever in the process.
This time the two seem more evenly matched. Millen is taking the wheel of the new megawatt Drive eO PP03. Also equipped with all-wheel drive, the six Yasa motors in the Latvian entry can pump out 1,368 hp with a top speed of 162 mph.
There will be other electric entries, including a trio of cars from Entrophy Racing and some motorcycles, but the Monster versus Millen match up will be the one to watch. Mitsubishi has decided to not return to the climb this year, after crushing it in 2014. If we get more details about he improved E-Runner before the June 28 race date, we'll pass them along.
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