Mitsubishi has announced that it will send an i-MiEV all-electric car to the infamous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The EV will do more than look pretty in the background however, as the i-MiEV Prototype will compete in the gruelling 4,300-metre challenge.
Legendary Japanese rally driver, Hiroshi Masuoka, a veteran of 21 Dakar rallies and winner in 2002 and 2003, will pilot the car up the twisty mountain road that, for the first time, will do without its famous gravel section. The i-MiEV Prototype will use the same EV components as the road-going car with the competition being seen as the ideal way to enhance the durability and reliability of pure EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs, which it will be bringing to market in the near future.
In addition to Masuoka-san, Mitsubishi's development team and partner manufacturers of batteries, motors and other EV components will be in attendance to collaborate closer on the sharing of technology and knowhow for the purpose of further boosting Mitsubishi's EV development capabilities.