With Nrburgring Records Dead, Automakers Begin Pikes Peak Chest-Thumping
At the conclusion of this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Mercedes-Benz issued a release claiming a new record: the Mercedes-Benz C250d 4MATIC was the fastest production diesel to ever make it from base camp to summit. Driven by Uwe Nittel, the compression-ignition, tri-star sedan navigated the mountain’s 156 corners in 11 minutes 22 seconds.
Since the manufacturer-favorite Nürburgring has imposed speed restrictions at certain high speed sections and outright banned hot lap record attempts, a new battleground is needed.
Will that frontline be in Colorado?
Like the public toll road in Germany, Pikes Peak is a public road every other weekend out of the year. However, unlike the ‘Ring, there is a speed limit and – when pushing to find the elusive 11/10ths – an increased chance of death.
This year saw loss of life with motorcycle rider Carl Sorensen and last year was marred by the death of another two-wheeled racer, Bobby Goodin. In all, including Sorensen and Goodin, six racers have succumbed to injuries as a result of crashes at the PPIHC – four of those in the last 15 years as speeds have skyrocketed and the road has transformed from gravel thoroughfare to mountain-scarring ribbon of tarmac thanks to a lawsuit by the Sierra Club.
It’s against this backdrop of danger manufacturers of two- and four-wheeled machines now find renewed interest in Pikes Peak. Recently, it was the only American thing to catch the interest of Peugeot. Piloted by 9-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb, the French brand brought their Peugeot 208 T16 race car to Pikes Peak in an effort to take the overall course record.
They succeeded.
But, it isn’t these Unlimited Class specials that will be of interest in the future at PPIHC.
The road, now completely paved, can offer conditions much more applicable to daily road car use. For their part, Mercedes-Benz has attempted to capitalize by sending a car to Colorado that fills a very small niche – diesel-powered cars – favorable to their successful record-claiming endeavor.
Other alternative drivetrains are showing up in Colorado, as well. With output decreasing for internal combustion engines as the air gets thinner, electric vehicles can show their worth as they torque their way to the top.
Conventional engines still have a future in the automotive market. However, with a shorter distance to climb and a variety of corners to navigate, Pikes Peak may become home to many new auditory delights, even if it’s interspersed with corporate chest-thumping.
More by Mark Stevenson
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I drove to the top of Pikes Peak a few years ago in my Jaguar S-Type R, and the trip up and down is an absolute blast provided there is little traffic. However, the trip up and down is indeed very punishing on the cars if you bring any modicum of speed to the equation. Going up can easily send your coolant to boiling. I had to stop two or three times to wait for the engine to cool after watching the needle move towards the red. Additionally, being at such altitude reduces power considerably on both FI cars (about 1.5% per 1,000 feet) and non-FI cars (about 3% per 1,000 feet), meaning you need that much more throttle force to get going. Having a supercharger really helped me in this regard and it is intoxicating listening to that whine as it pulls the car. Going down is hard on the brakes, even with significant coasting, due to the number of sharp corners and the fact that there is oftentimes considerable traffic with other drivers riding their brakes. The park recommends placing your car in 1st gear or low gear, but that doesn't help all that much with slower drivers which there is an abundance of. Fortunately there is a brake inspection on the way down at the half way point to ensure the typical family transport does not completely lose braking power. These limitations notwithstanding, it is still an absolute blast to drive up and down such a monstrously large mountain. I would recommend anyone passing through the area to check it out, even in a Camcord or other family transport.
The current production car record is held by the Range Rover sport supercharged w/ dynamic package. Pikes peak will not be the standard because the high elevation favors supercharged and turbo charged vehicles with awd/4wd systems. You go from under 7000 feet to over 14 other than on pikes peak you will not see any roads like that they should just pick a different race track.