Japanese driver Ikuo Hanawa at the wheel of a Yokohama sponsored Electric Sports Buggy Concept HER-02 smashed the electric vehicle record by over 75 seconds, climbing silently (save computer-generated warning beeps) to the top of the mountain in 13:17.575 a full one and a half minute improvement on the time set last year of 14:50.754.
Using Sanyo lithium-ion batteries providing power to the 200 kw AC Propulsion powertrain, Hanawa piloted to the end of the 12.4-mile, 156-turn course and the top of the 14,110-foot peak. The Electric Vehicle record stood at 14:33.12, set in 2003 by Jeri Unser in an AC Propulsion powered car sponsored by Compact Power, a subsidiary of LG, the same company contracted to supply batteries to General Motors for the Chevy Volt.
The EV record was originally set by Honda in 1999 at 15:19.91 using a full bodied 1997 Honda EV PLUS Type R. The outright record at Pikes Peak is 10:01.41 set by Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima' in the Unlimited Class.
