Motortrend and Ford remake classic Pikes Peak Climb Dance movie with Marcus Gronholm

Markus

Back in 1988 Jean Louis Mourey captured the beauty and terror of racing up Colorado's Pike's Peak in a modified rally car in what has become a classic short car film called Climb Dance.

The film documents the The annual Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, Colorado  which is the second oldest race in America.

FYI: The race course goes 12.42 miles (straight up) with 156 turns to an elevation of 14,110 feet.

The driver of the car was Ari Vatanen and he set a new record by driving his modified Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 GR at to the top of the fourteen thousand foot mountain in a record time of 10:47.

Fast forward to 2009 and Motortrend Magazine with Ford and two time world champion Rally car driver Marcus Gronholm decided to remake the classic film with a highly modified 800 HP Fiesta.

But while Gronholm manged to remake the movie, his time of 11:29 was a bit slower than Vatanen's time but that was due in part to the fact that Gronholm lost his turbo going up the mountain. 

Plus, if you take a look at the photo above, his rear wheel caught fire perhaps due to s seized brake caliper.

Plus, over the last 12 years the course has changed as more and more of the road is getting paved.

Take a look at the original short film below along with the remake and decide which one captures the beauty and terror of racing up Colorado's Pike's Peak best.

Climb Dance by Jean Louis Mourey

Peak Performance by Tim Vincent and Scott Richardson