Super powerful and crazy fast electric race cars are a completely new breed of vehicles that promise to make for exciting racing this year at the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. We caught up with Toyota Electric Car TRD team (last year’s record setter) and Mitsubishi team as they practiced running the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb in the early hours of the morning before the big race this weekend.
The drivers told us that they cannot hear the mandatory electric race car siren while going at full speed. Greg Tracy from team Mitsubishi explained the sensation of driving the MiEV Evolution II as being on a roller coaster, where you control the accelerator. The electric cars are very powerful and quick. However, they still cannot match their gas burning Unlimited class racers on the sheer speed. Toyota TMG EV P002 team is targeting 9:45 time for this year’s race. While Unlimited car teams are looking to get below 9 minutes.
These cars have four electric motors, one for each wheel, and a very sophisticated computer controlling system to manage and allocate traction. The drivers tell us that the traction and downforce are at very high levels and they are sure that this will continue to improve.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or simply going ‘for a drive’.
