Pikes Peak 2014 – Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III finishes 2nd and 3rd

Mitsubishi’s all-electric propulsion received considerable acclaim as two of its entries in the recently-concluded Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, United States, took podium finishes and whilst topping the race’s Electric Modified Division category.

Coming just two seconds behind overall winner Romain Dumas from the Unlimited category competing with a 2013 Norma M20 was Greg Tracy setting a time of 9 minutes 08.188 seconds in his Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III AWD EV. He was followed closely by fellow Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka, who clocked 9 minutes 12.204 seconds in an identical car.

Also known as ‘The Race to the Clouds’, the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb flags its competitors off on a time attack course at an elevation of 2,862 metres above sea level on a 20km course that takes them through 156 corners before finishing on the Pikes Peak summit at 4,301 metres elevation.

With elevation changing by some 1,439 metres from start to finish, competing cars face significantly varying atmospheric pressure, temperature, weather, and other conditions throughout the race. Towards the end, the air becomes significantly thinner and cause the internal combustion engines to lose power. Electric-powered vehicles benefit from this, and both the MiEV Evo IIIs were notably faster than the competition at the latter stages of the race.

“Mitsubishi Motors has entered the Pikes Peak Hill Climb three years in a row since 2012, viewing it as an opportunity to verify the performance of major EV components. In the 2012 race we were able to verify the performance of the motors and battery module from the production model under grueling conditions. In 2013 using motors and battery still under advance development we were able to verify the performance potential of these components as well as their durability under real-world driving conditions,” said Kanenori Okamoto, Corporate General Manager of Mitsubishi’s EV Business OFfice.

“In the 2014 Pikes Peak, we have verified these components’ durability performance and will reflect them in our next-generation EV and PHEV models. In addition, we will use data from the race to not only to improve four-wheel control technologies – one of MMC’s specialties – to allow future cars to drive faster and with greater stability, but also use Pikes Peak experience to further educate our control system engineers,” Okamoto continued.

KON

Pictures: Official Mitsubishi release.