If there was one automotive video you must watch this year, this is probably it. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Nov. 10, 2023 Earlier this week, Ford introduced something completely unique to the automotive enthusiast world that caught me completely off guard. While I was enduring almost 1,000 hours of internal OEM drive testing this past summer, one of my favorite motor sports venues just so happened to include a last-minute entry with an all-electric powertrain that damn near blew the doors off of everything. That includes within its open class entry and darn near everyone entered in the entire event. This years “Race to the Clouds,” the iconic Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, saw competitors take on the harrowing 12.5 miles of twisting mountain road without a guardrail in sight through menacingly-named corners like Bottomless Pit, Ragged Edge and the Devil’s Playground. If you have ever driven it in whatever you own and drive, you will know that white knuckled, two-handed driving at a whopping 20 mph on the way up is just the beginning. Now imagine driving up this torturous winding peak while averaging over 80 mph? This is the essence of the Pike Peak International Hill Climb. Ford has been there since the beginning when the first race vehicles ventured to the top of Pikes Peak back in 1916. For the 101st running, Ford decided to do something absolutely, positively unorthodox and dare I say wacky. In such a darn cool way too! They entered a Transit electric van. But not just any ordinary Transit van. Meet the SuperVan 4.2 which is a hill climbing monster blending 1,400 horsepower of raw electric power from three electric motors with a body inspired by Ford Pro’s latest E-Transit Custom van. It’s an update of the crowd-wowing Ford Pro Electric SuperVan 4.0 that debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2022, but with a body leaning 880-pound weight reduction and super-charged with an enhanced battery and electric motors. It’s also had an aerodynamic redesign to create two tons of downforce at approximately 150 mph for maximum cornering grip, even while driving into the thin air of the peak at 14,110 ft ASL. With racing driver Romain Dumas – holder of the record for the fastest-ever Pikes Peak hill climb – strapped into the driver’s seat, Ford was ready to race into the sky. Watch the video to discover how this epic adventure unfolded… Trust me, this one you will want to watch. Enjoy because I sure did.
Do they warn THE ELECTRIC GRID that the Pike's Peak EV climbers AND into the future, have a chance to collapse the ELECTRIC GRID? What preparations does the Pike's Peak competition give to bolster THE GRID? How do other planned potential grid collapsing EV events support efforts to bolster Electric Grids around the country.....the World? It IS their responsibility.
