The Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb is a racing occasion that’s been occurring since 1916. It’s a 12.42-mile run that climbs 4,720 toes and serves as a proving floor for carmakers to check the pace and agility of their new autos.
Electrical vehicles are likely to do effectively within the Pikes Peak race; they don’t should cope with the issues of excessive altitudes and thinner air that may stymie racecars powered by fossil fuels, making it an excellent testing floor. The primary electrical automotive to win was in 2015, when Honda claimed victory with an electrical CR-Z. Volkswagen’s ID R set a course document in 2018, blasting up the course at over 90 mph in slightly below eight minutes.
However for the previous two years, one firm has claimed the title of King of the Mountain with its wildly designed electrical demonstrators: Ford. The engineers at the automaker’s racing division method the race with the zeal of a mad scientist. First there was the SuperVan 4.2, a 2,000 horsepower (not a typo) “frivolously modified” Transit van with a rear wing so huge it appeared prefer it might merely fly to the highest of the notorious hill. Then there was the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, a beastly model of the automaker’s electrical pickup that, just like the SuperVan, took house the highest prize — even after briefly coming to a whole cease throughout its run.
For the previous two years, one firm has claimed the title of King of the Mountain with its wildly designed electrical demonstrators: Ford
This yr, Ford is switching issues up with the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E, an EV demonstrator with specs much like the SuperVan and SuperTruck, with some key variations. Nonetheless, the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E can have the identical problem: get to the highest of the hill quicker than anybody else.
And whereas SuperTruck was an evolution of SuperVan, the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E is extra of a “ground-up train,” mentioned Zach Burns, F1 and EV demonstration program engineer, in an interview. That features a new suspension, a full aerodynamic redesign, carbon brakes, and different additions designed to assist the demonstrator cost up the infamous hill as quick as attainable.
A lot of that can come right down to downforce, and Ford Efficiency has actually outdone itself with this one. Maybe you’ve observed the large rear wing that’s paying homage to a extra conventional racecar design with endplates over the curved, body-joining construction. This may assist the Mustang Mach-E generate a staggering 6,900 kilos of downforce at 150 mph, surpassing even final yr’s SuperTruck high-downforce configuration.
“You’re solely going to see that form of degree [of downforce in] F1 and LMP1 [vehicles] again within the day,” Burns mentioned. “So it’s a really excessive downforce automobile.”
The Tremendous Mustang Mach-E is extra of a “ground-up train”
Design work started final September, Burns mentioned. By the top of October, the Ford Efficiency staff had “totally dedicated” to the design of the automobile. And ultimate meeting came about a few month and a half in the past in Austria by STARD Superior Analysis and Improvement, Ford’s manufacturing accomplice within the undertaking.
The staff began with a point-mass mannequin, biking by way of “tons of and tons of” of iterations till they settled on the shape issue that may be best on the monitor, Burns mentioned. “So that you’re taking a look at wheelbase monitor, width, lengths, weights, energy, downforce — simply form of all of the totally different spectrums of a automobile and to decide on the attributes you’d wish to have,” he added.
Crucially, the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E is a lighter and extra nimble racer than its predecessors, with extra regenerative means and a extra balanced weight distribution. This may assist with the 12.42-mile course’s twisty ascent, Ford says.
On the coronary heart of the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E are three STARD UHP 6-Section motors producing over 1,400 horsepower, all fed by 50kWh of ultra-high-performance Li-polymer nickel-manganese-cobalt pouch cells. Like final yr’s entry, the demonstrator operates on a voltage of 799V, however this yr’s setup sheds crucial weight — over 260 kilos — whereas delivering regenerative braking of 710kW. The automotive’s carbon braking system, cast magnesium wheels, and Pirelli P-Zero tires are engineered to resist the punishing 156 turns as much as the 14,115-foot summit.
On the coronary heart of the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E are three STARD UHP 6-Section motors producing over 1,400 horsepower
Ford is eyeing a possible hat trick (or would it not be a Triple Crown?) with this yr’s race, which takes place June twenty second in Colorado. As with Ford’s earlier Pikes Peak entrants, French racing impresario Romain Dumas will pilot the Mach-E to the summit. To mark Dumas’ milestone with the staff, the Mustang Mach-E will carry the official race quantity 310 — a nod to his third entry with Ford Efficiency and tenth general run up Pikes Peak.
However this isn’t some self-importance undertaking for Ford. Key learnings from the Tremendous Mustang Mach-E and its counterparts are “actively influencing” the following technology of Ford EVs for manufacturing, the corporate says. This contains improvements in battery chemistry, thermal administration, and high-performance electrical drive items “examined underneath excessive stress at Pikes Peak.”
“These autos are the higher echelon of the height of what you’ll be able to see and what we do right here,” Burns mentioned. “I feel that undoubtedly helps validate and enhance what we do on the manufacturing aspect.”