Hyundai Ioniq 5 N wins Pikes Peak

Hyundai has announced that it will put no less than four Ioniq 5 Ns at the start of Pikes Peak on June 23. Their mission: to come home with a record.

Hyundai is clearly not aiming for the perfect record in the Limitation category, held since 2018 by the formidable Volkswagen ID of Romain Dumas (7 minutes 57 s), but the best time in “production electric SUVs and crossovers”, held by now. … man. This should make the job easier. This also means that Hyundai has no prior plans to do better than the Tesla Model 3 Performance, the fastest to date among electric cars of all body types (11 minutes and 02 seconds in 2020 by Blake Fuller).

Still, the standard Ioniq 5 N has all the weapons to put on a show with 650 hp and 770 Nm immediately available from its two electric motors. The latter will be an advantage for them on a short test (19.99 km) where the battery will not be pushed to its limit, and in inaccessible air (difference of 1440 m in height to a height of 4302 m) where heat engines have problems. to breathe

Furthermore, only two of the four cars entered will be eligible for this record. “Production” cars or not, these Ioniq 5 Ns will do without a back seat to accommodate the roll cage and fire extinguishers. They will be piloted by Americans Paul Dallenbach, an eleven-time winner of the event, and Ron Zaras, the late Ken Block’s former producer at Hoonigan, who will make his Pikes Peak debut.

And two other cars? If they don’t aim for this record, it’s because they intend to do better. For this, they will be heavily modified and entrusted to the Briton Robin Shute, the reigning winner at Pikes Peak (and three times before), and to the Spaniard Dani Sordo, a veteran of the WRC and Hyundai but a rookie on the legendary mountain. Colorado.

“Hyundai has been testing new technologies and products at Pikes Peak since 1992, and the Ioniq 5 N applies this concept to high-performance electric vehicles. The standard Ioniq 5 N will demonstrate what customers can expect from their vehicle. »

Finally, note that the red color in the image above will make way for the Pikes Peak special production. I expect June 23.