Toyota’s entry a true electric race car
Toyota introduced this car at the Nurburgring last year with an amazingly fast 7:47 tour of the ‘ring, establishing a new lap record for electric cars. Now with more power and torque on hand, they plan on taking on the hill. The car has been regeared from its Nurburgring outing to reduce its top speed which should provide more acceleration with the greater torque on hand.
With the race up Pikes Peak coming up a month from today, Toyota is joining some good company in having a true electric race car entered in the competition. Of all the motor sports venues, Pikes Peak offers one of the best opportunities to showcase the advantages of an electric drivetrain.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a significant challenge for any vehicle. The hill climb covers over 12 miles, climbing over 4,700 feet along the way. Oh, and by the way… the starting elevation is just shy of 9,500 feet – or over 1.75 miles above sea level. Driving a standard gasoline powered engine in the competition gave way to supercharged and turbocharged powerplants over time because as the air thins out with the gain in altitude a normally aspirated engine loses power. Actually so do forced induction engines, but at a lesser rate. Enter the EV. As the burning of a mixture of air and fuel is not required in an electric motor, the EV loses no power with the elevation change, providing a significant advantage over conventionally powered vehicles.
With a strong showing in Germany, the Toyota should do well next month climbing the hill. But if we were the betting type, our money would have to go on the Monster – the current fastest man up the hill (just last year), driving an all new electric car this year.