Mitsubishi builds i-Miev Evo electric car for Pikes Peak
At the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in July, Mitsubishi will enter an Evolution version of its i-Miev electric car, alongside a production i-Miev, in the new Electric division.
Mitsubishi Evos, performance-modified versions of the Lancer model, became legendary on the offroad rally circuit for their exceptional handling. Now Mitsubishi takes the Evo designation into the future with the first i-Miev Evolution, a performance version of its pod-like i-Miev electric city car.
Mitsubishi built the i-Miev Evo for the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb, a race featuring 156 turns over 12.42 miles with a 4,700 foot ascent. The company says it started with a stock i-Miev, but the specs show heavy modification. Along with a completely new, carbon fiber body, the i-Miev Evo gets three 80 kilowatt electric motors, one for the front wheels and two at the rears. These motors get juice from a 35 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack.
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The stock i-Miev, one of which will also run the course, uses a single 49 kilowatt motor on the rear wheels, powered by a 16 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It seems obvious which one should win.
At last year's Hill Climb, the Nissan Leaf conquered its division of one car. Nissan has not entered this year's event as of yet.
The Hill Climb, which takes place on July 8, will see seven cars competing in the Electric division. This new division seems to be open to production and custom-built cars. The i-Miev Evo will face tough competition against the likes of Summit's Her-02, HCE's Lightning XP12, and Tajima Motor's Monster Sport Pikes Peak Special.
Toyota Motorsport also has an undisclosed vehicle in the Electric division, which could be a race-modified version of the recently unveiled RAV4 EV.