Yokohama tires and Sanyo batteries are sponsoring an electric buggy in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Last year with Japanese driver Ikuo Hanawa behind the wheel, the Yokohama-sponsored EV buggy posted a time of 14:50.754 finishing 2nd in class, just missing the EV record by 13 seconds.
For the 2010 event the team have upgraded to a new powertrain system from AC Propulsion. Although no specs have been provided in the Yokohama press release, AC Propulsion are the company behind the car that kicked off the Li-ion EV revolution, the tzero, the car the Tesla Roadster is based on, and more recently the E-Mini. The standard AC-150 system from ACP outputs 150 kw. In 2009 the Buggy ran two 6.7 inch diameter brushed DC motors with 13.5 kw each (27 kw total) powered by a 15 kWh Sanyo Li-ion battery pack.
Begun in 1916, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb marks its 87th running this year. Racing to the 4,301-meter summit, participants cover a 20-kilometer course beginning at the 2,862-meter level. The race is famous for the severity of its conditions: rapidly changing temperatures and weather, a combination of tarmac and gravel surfaces, and 156 curves. This year, in all classes, more than 200 automobiles and motorcycles will compete.
The outright winner in 2009 was 'Monster' Tajima driving his 873 HP 2.7-liter Twin turbo V6 4WD sport prototype Suzuki SX4 with a time of 10:15.368. With a 5x increase in power over last year we'll be keeping an eye out for the EV Sports Concept HER-02 buggy to smash the old EV record on June 27.