Tag Archives: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Automobiles

Official: Honda signs on as Pikes Peak sponsor, race participant

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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Honda plans to storm the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30, entering ten cars in nine classes at the race to the sky, and signing on as a corporate sponsor. Part of the company’s return to grassroots racing – if that’s what you can call factory-backed efforts – the banners of Honda R&D and Honda North America will fly on these entries: a first-gen Acura NSX, an Acura TL SH-AWD, Honda CR-Z, Honda Fit EV, one CRF450R and two CRF250R motorcycles, a CBR1000RR motorcycle and a TRX450 ATV.

One more entry, details of which are to be announced later, will be driven by IndyCar pilot Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports. LoveFab (pictured above during practice last year) will be there with its new, NSX-based Enviate, but as a privateer entry.

Honda’s been to the mountain before, with high-powered gear in 2012 and record-setting EVs in 1994 and 1999, but it’s never made noise like this. Have a read of the press release below for more info.

Continue reading Honda signs on as Pikes Peak sponsor, race participant

Honda signs on as Pikes Peak sponsor, race participant originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Teased: Peugeot teases its 208 T16 Pikes Peak racer

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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Peugeot is returning to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year after a 14-year absence, and it has begun teasing the 208 T16 that Sébastien Loeb will be piloting up the mountain. Sporting a carbon fiber effects package that you won’t find on the dealership floor nor at your local tuner, even the cockpit is a surprise since it features a central driving position.

Waging war in the Unlimited Class, it will have gobs of power underhood, the number 208 on its sides and two self-locking diffs to get power to the proper wheels. The entire route is paved this year, but Loeb has proved he knows how to handle tarmac in a variety of circumstances: after taking third in the French GT Championship last year, he entered the FIA GT series this year and won the opening race of the season earlier this month in a McLaren MP4-12C.

Click on the image above to see it in high resolution.

Peugeot teases its 208 T16 Pikes Peak racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From: http://feeds.autoblog.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~3/4hdx8NE-y0E/

Automobiles

Official: Peugeot returning to Pikes Peak with Sébastien Loeb [w/video]

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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In spite of troubles in other areas – and there are plenty of them – sales of the Peugeot 208 are a bright spot for the French carmaker. Attempting to grab that light and make sure it shines everywhere, the company is returning the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30 with a specially prepared 208 driven by nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

Citroën has loaned Loeb to its PSA/Peugeot-Citroën sister company so that he could contest his first Pikes Peak – it only makes sense that he’s looking to try new pastures after winning all of those World Rally Championship titles with Citroën. The 208, which will have the start number ‘208,’ will be revealed in April. Peugeot has won the race twice, once with Ari Vatanen in a 206 T16 in 1988 and again the next year with Robby Unser in a 405 T16.

To get you ready, there’s a press release and a short film below called Climb Dance which follows Vatanen’s drive. We highly recommend a watch – better vintage car porn is hard to find.

Continue reading Peugeot returning to Pikes Peak with Sébastien Loeb [w/video]

Peugeot returning to Pikes Peak with Sébastien Loeb [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Motorsports: Carlsson turns Mercedes-Benz SLK into 610-HP hill-climb clawer

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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Carlsson’s race-tuned versions of the Mercedes-Benz SLK have been taking checkered flags for years, and we won’t be surprised if its SLK 340 hill climber fares any different. Developed by multiple German and Swiss hill climb champion Reto Meisel, the carbon-bodied SLK 340 with lightweight brakes and a closed underbody weighs 1,716 pounds. Propelling that tiny bit of weight is a 3.4-liter V8 from Judd with 610 horsepower, and it rolls on 18-inch wheels shod in Avon tires.

It will debut at the Geneva Motor Show before beginning its racing campaigns in the summer. This one won’t just tear up roads in Europe, though – Meisel says he plans on bringing it to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The press release below has more details.

Continue reading Carlsson turns Mercedes-Benz SLK into 610-HP hill-climb clawer

Carlsson turns Mercedes-Benz SLK into 610-HP hill-climb clawer originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Automobiles

Motorsports: Hyundai and Rhys Millen reunite, will return to Pikes Peak with new RWD racer, Genesis Coupe

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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Last September, Hyundai confirmed that it was exiting all of its motorsports programs in North America. That left Rhys Millen Racing without a title sponsor for its Formula Drift and Global RallyCross Championship series challengers. It also looked to have meant the end of a partnership that last year resulted in a record-setting run at Pikes Peak when Rhys Millen established the new benchmark for a run up the Colorado mountain in a production-based race car.

Hyundai clarified that September report by saying it was “reconsidering our continued involvement in Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, having achieved the world record in a Hyundai Genesis Coupe this year.” The return is official, with Hyundai saying it is going back to the peak with Millen and two cars, one of them a “purpose-built unlimited class rear-drive,” the other being the Hyundai Genesis Coupe-based racer that set last year’s record in the time attack two-wheel-drive class.

Hyundai wants to show off the strength of its engineering, so the unlimited car will have something like 900 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque while using the production block, cylinder heads, bearings and accessories of its Lambda V6 engine. You can read more about the effort in the press release below, and click the image above for an enlarged view of what’s coming.

Continue reading Hyundai and Rhys Millen reunite, will return to Pikes Peak with new RWD racer, Genesis Coupe

Hyundai and Rhys Millen reunite, will return to Pikes Peak with new RWD racer, Genesis Coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog