FULLERTON, Calif. — An electric vehicle driving on Yokohama tires and powered by a new AC Propulsion motor broke the record for electric vehicles in the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, Colo., over the weekend.
With Japanese driver Ikuo Hanawa behind the wheel, the Yokohama-equipped EV won the Exhibition class with a time of 13:17:575, a 93-second improvement over its time from a year ago. That mark shattered the previous Pikes Peak EV record, set by Jeri Unser in 2003, by 65 seconds.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb, called the “Race to the Clouds,” begins at an elevation of 9,390 feet and climbs to 14,110 feet, a rise of 4,720 feet.
Hanawa’s new EV Sports Concept HER-02, utilizing Sanyo batteries, ran on prototype next-generation tires from Yokohama designed to demonstrate stability on any kind of road surface – the Peak course is run over gravel and pavement – and low rolling resistance, important for this technologically-advanced racecar.
“Breaking a seven-year-old record is impressive and speaks to the capability of the Yokohama tires,” said Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning.
Due to the constantly changing surfaces and weather that can occur on the Pikes Peak course, Yokohama tested multiple tires on the HER-02 immediately before the race. Not only does the surface change from pavement to gravel and back, the 2010 race had everything from sun, rain and snow on the mountain course throughout the race day.
