- What Is Pikes Peak?
- What Classes Are There At The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?
- Alternative Fuel Records
- Production Car Records
- Production Car
- Production SUV/Crossover
- Electric Vehicles
- Drivetrain Records
- Overall Record
- Recent Overall Winners
- Memorable Moments
- Coming In 2023
With the 101st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb just around the corner, let's take a look at previous winners.
The 101st running of the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place this month with almost 70 entrants, so we thought we'd take a look back at some of the extraordinary machines that have tamed the event.
In the following article, we're going to take a look at some past overall winners, division record holders, and what to look forward to at this year's event, taking place on Sunday, June 25.
We've got EVs, SUVs, and purpose-built race cars. We look at front-driven, rear-driven, and AWD contenders. But before we get there, a quick history lesson.
What Is Pikes Peak?
In 1806, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Lt. Zebulon Pike to explore the Great Plains. On seeing the mountain that would be named after himself, Lt. Pike swore that it would never be summited by humans, but by the middle of the next century, Pikes Peak had become a major tourist attraction.
A carriage road was completed by 1900, and one of Colorado Springs' city's major benefactors, Spencer Penrose, realized that this presented an opportunity. In 1915, the conversion of the narrow road into the Pikes Peak Highway was completed, and Penrose publicized the road by starting an automobile race to the top.
The inaugural Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, as it was known at the time, took place on August 10, 11, and 12, 1916. Rea Lentz won the race in a homemade car with a time of 20:55.6, forever etching his name into the history of one of the most exciting hill climb events in the world.
These days, the entire road has been paved with asphalt, but at least it remains on the calendar as the second oldest motorsports race in America.
Currently, the race starts at 9,390 feet above sea level. After 156 turns over 12.42 miles, competitors climb to the clouds, reaching 14,115 feet above sea level, an exercise that puts immense strain on drivers and engines alike as the lack of oxygen robs lungs and combustion motors of power. Top speed takes a back seat to acceleration, handling, and braking. Besides the risky route and the asphyxiation of engines, the weather on race day can change in a matter of minutes. But that doesn't discourage most people.
What Classes Are There At The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?
Unlimited: In this class, anything goes so long as the race car passes a safety inspection and meets the PPIHC's general rules. Basically, as long as it's safe, you can run anything you want here.
Time Attack 1: Closed cockpit heavily modified machines based on production cars with four wheels. Extreme racers, but each with a tenuous link to the car you can buy at a dealer.
Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama: Introduced in 2018, the one-make Porsche class caters to Cayman GT4 Clubsport variants, of which there are four – Clubsport, Clubsport Trophy Specification, Clubsport MR, and Clubsport 2017 IMSA GS.
Open Wheel: As the name suggests, this class is for single-seater race cars without bodywork enclosed around the wheels. Anything from Indy-style cars to dune buggies can be seen competing here. Open-wheelers have contested every running of the event since its inauguration in 1916, and we hope they continue to do so. However, since asphalt now covers the course, this class has not been as popular in recent years as it once was.
Pikes Peak Open: These are production-based builds with “unlimited permitted modifications,” which basically means that most cars are extreme yet not as wild as Time Attack 1 cars. These are arguably the closest you can get to seeing a race car on the mountain with looks similar to those of your own car.
Exhibition Class: This class may seem pointless, but it's one of the most important, as it was created specifically to “demonstrate advancements in the practical application of motorsports technology.” The class encourages entrants to run automobiles that do not meet the technical specifications of other PPIHC classes. That means there are no class records, although entrants can vie for the overall record or an attempt on those set in classes no longer running.
Now, let's see who has been immortalized on the timesheets and for what reasons.
Alternative Fuel Records
We'll start with the oldest and work our way forward, noting that records set before 2002 are not directly relatable to those after. This is because the first mile of paving was laid down in 2002 but was only completed in 2011. So bear in mind that some of these cars were racing to the finish line on dirt or partially paved roads.
1981 – Turbine: Competing in the Open Rally class, Steve Bolan piloted his Bolan-Allison to the top of the mountain with a time of 15:27.180. Inspired by Parnelli Jones' STP turbine-powered IndyCar that almost won the 1967 Indy 500, Boan decided to put a smaller turbine in a Sprint Car, reports MotorTrend. The end result was capable of around 500 horsepower, had six disc brakes (four on the front axle), and featured AWD. Remarkably, it won the 1981 Race to the Clouds on its first competitive outing ever and continued racing for years after in various formats.
1993 – Natural Gas: 1993 saw Johnnie Rogers enter a Wells-Coyote powered by natural gas, and his open-wheel racer took top honors for the alternative fuel, setting a time of 11:50.090 at the event. Several other Wells Chevy buggy-like machines competed that year, as the lightweight and high downforce properties made it an agile and quick car. Interestingly, the Open Wheel class was dropped in 1935 but returned in 1956. Take a look at a similar version of the racer from the same year below.
2012 – Propane: Yes, you read that right. Propane cars compete here, and one of them was a Shelby Cobra driven by Randy Schranz in the Exhibition and Pikes Peak Open classes. This managed a time of 11:11.218, but Schranz is remembered for more than just an unusual fuel choice. When inducted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018, the association noted that Schranz had watched or participated in every single running of the PPIHC since he moved to Colorado in 1959. Basically, we're saying the Cobra was fast because of its driver more than because of its propane-fed engine.
2020 – Diesel: Diesel is still a popular fuel source today, which is why the blistering time was set so recently and will likely yet be beaten in the future. In 2020, Scott Birdsall competed in the Exhibition class (which means he wasn’t really competing at all). Beneath him was a custom-built 1949 Ford F1 with a monstrous 1,400-hp diesel engine that propelled itself to a time of 11:24.065. What makes this build particularly noteworthy is that it runs on biodiesel that is some 90% cleaner than the regular stuff, proving that an oil burner can make power without suffocating the average Prius driver. Speaking of hybrids…
2020 – Hybrid: This one is somewhat boring, so we won't take up too much time talking about it. Also in 2020, driver James Robinson set a record for hybrid production machines, achieving a time of 10:01.913 in a 2019 Acura NSX while competing in the Time Attack 1 class, in which he finished third.
Production Car Records
The best Pikes Peak cars are those specially built for the event, but stock standard production cars are exciting to watch, too, not least because they give the average enthusiast a point of reference. However, they do get some special ECU and exhaust tuning to account for losses as altitude climbs over the route. They also require electrical cutoff switches, fire suppression systems, a race seat, and a safety harness bolted to a roll cage.
These records refer to times set during the race, and any driver that wishes to be eligible for an official record must declare their intention to do so in advance. However, conditions at Pikes Peak are rarely ideal and are regularly changeable, which means that it could be years before a table-topping time falls.
To encourage the use of the road as Colorado's own miniature Nurburgring circuit (i.e.: a place where manufacturers can push the limits of their cars at their own pace), PPIHC official timekeepers can be utilized by those who wish to set a time on the layout whenever they like. These times become records of sorts but are never mentioned among those set on race day. The whole point of the single-day event is that competitors have a somewhat even playing field.
Still, it's awesome to see what a driver can do when they do not have tight time constraints. Last year, the Lamborghini Urus Performante set a new course record, but as we've explained, the official PPIHC record set in a Bentley Bentayga still stands. The same applies to the Porsche 911 Turbo S that cracked the 10-minute barrier as part of the Certified Course Times set outside of competition but is still not an official record holder.
With that out of the way, let's look at the best to do it so far.
Production Car
This division was formerly called TA 2 Production, and the official record was set in 2019 by Rhys Millen. At the helm of a 2019 Bentley Continental GT, the driver posted a time of 10:18.488. We're sure David Donner, in his abovementioned all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo S, wants to snatch the record back, but he hasn't entered the 2023 edition. Perhaps someone or something else will raise the bar this year.
Production SUV/Crossover
The category previously known as Production SUV now also accounts for smaller vehicles of the same sort, but it's a big brute that currently holds the record. This record also belongs to Rhys Millen, and again, it was set in a Bentley, specifically a 2018 Bentayga. 10:49.902 was the official time, but we suspect it could be broken by new entries this year. More on those later.
There is also a Production Truck/Van class, but no records have been set here. 2023 will likely change that too.
Electric Vehicles
Times set here are eligible for an official record, but they do not compete in a specific class. Several EVs are entered each year, and some are Time Attack 1 cars while others are Exhibition entrants. This record basically just collates all those times and picks the quickest set by a production car with an electric powertrain. That honor currently belongs to Blake Fuller after he posted a time of 11:02.802 in 2020 while piloting a 2018 Tesla Model 3.
Several other divisions have been made provision for but do not yet have records, including those for Electric Production SUV/Crossover, Electric Production Truck/Van. The same categories are repeated for Modified Electric Vehicles.
Finally, we have the Electric Prototype/Pupose-Built division, formerly known as Electric Modified. Unsurprisingly, the record set in 2018 by driver Romain Dumas still stands. The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak car shattered all previous records – EV or otherwise – with a time of 7:57.148 in 2018. And it did so with less power than most.
Drivetrain Records
These records are not often held by production cars; these are the outright fastest times for cars powering the rear wheels alone, those exclusively motivating the front wheels, and those with all wheels powered. Curiously, all the records mentioned here were set in 2018. The weather must have been great that year.
FWD: The FWD record is currently held by Nick Robinson, who competed in the PPC – Pikes Peak Open class with a 2018 Acura TLX A-Spec. He recorded a time of 10:48.094, but that's a long way off what a rear-driven car can do.
RWD: A 2018 Norma M20 SF PKP piloted by Simone Faggiolo set a time of 8:37.230 in the Unlimited class, and although it's not the fastest car to take on the peak, it's one of the best to listen to, thanks to a 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6 producing a power figure in the region of 800 hp.
AWD: The overall record still belongs to the carbon fiber-loving, 680-hp VW I.D. R Pikes Peak, whose total weight of 2,425 pounds helped it become the first to break 8 minutes: 7:57.148. What makes this all the more remarkable is that VW announced the project just 250 days before the race.
Overall Record
As we just mentioned, the AWD VW I.D. R that Volkswagen built is still the King of the Hill after it beat the previous record set by Sebastien Loeb's insane 875-hp Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak racer in 2013. The French team may since have been relegated to second place, but at least it makes some noises, and they're epic. Any excuse to rewatch Loeb's run is worth taking, so here you go.
Recent Overall Winners
This year's is the event's 101st, so there isn't enough space to list all the past winners here. If you're into that sort of thing, the entire list showing every overall victory since 1916 can be found on the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb website, but for now, let's look at the five most recent overall winners.
- 2022: Robin Shute – 2018 Wolf TSC-FS (Unlimited) – 10:09.525
- 2021: Robin Shute – 2018 Wolff GB08 TSC-LT (Unimited) – 5:55.246 (event route shortened due to poor weather)
- 2020: Clint Vahsholtz – 2013 Ford Open (Open Wheel) – 9:35.490
- 2019: Robin Shute – 2018 Wolf TSC-Honda (Unlimited) – 9:12.476
- 2018: Romain Dumas – 2018 Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak (Unlimited) – 7:57.148
Memorable Moments
- No story about the PPIHC would be complete without at least a passing mention of the Suzuki Escudo, a car that introduced a whole generation of Gran Turismo 2 gamers to the Colorado mountain. 985 hp, ridiculous aero, and a sound that could wake the dead are hard to forget.
- We should also note the late Ken Block for his magnificently ballsy Climbkhana video. That shot of the Hoonicorn's rear end hanging out over Evo Corner as each tire desperately struggles to claw the Mustang away from the edge will forever be one of the greatest ever captured on the hill. Sadly, Ken never got the opportunity to challenge for the overall course record in his purpose-built Hoonipigasus, but his family is continuing his legacy. Daughter Lia will drive the pink Porsche, while wife Lucy will be in an electric open-wheeler.
- Randy Pobst, a man who has conquered several forms of motorsport, is closely affiliated with Unplugged Performance, and he's championed the benefits of electric mobility from behind the tiller of a modified Tesla Model S Plaid a few times now. But despite the 65-year-old's inexhaustible wealth of experience, we saw that the man is human after a heart-in-mouth moment in 2020. Thankfully, the man continues to show just how big his brass ones are.
- Speaking of scary moments, the reason we refer to the bend on which Ken Block stopped our hearts as Evo Corner is because of the below crash. Miraculously, it was not fatal, but it still makes the hairs on the back of your neck tingle. As they say in the classics, “The speed was okay, but the corner was too tight.”
Coming In 2023
This year, the fun continues as new team and driver pairings take on the climb. As we touched on earlier, the Block family will enter, but so will niche automakers like Rashford with its 62-2, which will make use of the services of Tanner Foust, and Alpine, which will campaign a specially developed A110. Ford will be bringing the insane SuperVan 4, which could set a benchmark in the currently undisputed Modified Electric Truck/Van division. Aston Martin will enter for the first time too, and Rivian is aiming to clinch the Electric Truck/Van top honors for production vehicles. It will be joined by BMW with its XM, but we doubt this will trouble the Honda-backed team's Acura NSX time for production hybrids.
Thanks to minimal practice sessions, variable conditions, and crazy drops, Pikes Peak remains immensely exciting, so bring some company and a camping chair to the famous mountain at the end of this month. With many icons and newcomers vying for glory, can you afford to miss it?
Keyword: Best Pikes Peaks Cars: Meet the Titans That Tamed the Summit