Insane 1 Megawatt Electric Racer For Pikes Peak

On June 28, Drive eO will unleash its 1 megawatt electric racer, the PP03, at the annual Pikes Peak hill climb, popularly known as The Race To The Clouds. First held in 1916, Pikes Peak is the second oldest automotive racing event in North America after the Indianapolis 500.

According to project director Kristaps Dambis, the Drive eO team wants nothing less than to be the first electric car ever to win the race outright. In last year’s event, Mitsubishi all electric race cars finished 2nd and 3rd overall. Speaking to the press recently, Dambis had this to say:

“We are hugely excited about building world’s first one megawatt electric race car. We have built the car from the ground up and the majority of the components and design has been constructed in-house. We know that racing with a state- of-the-art vehicle comes along with new challenges, but we are well prepared after our Dakar Rally adventure and two previous participations in the race at Pikes Peak. With great pride, we’ll soon present the vehicle to the public and hopefully it will surprise everyone. Winning the event is our goal.”

The new PP03 features six YASA-400 electric motors powered by a 50 kWh lithium ion battery pack and weighs 2640 lbs.  The supercar cranks out almost 1400 horsepower with peak torque of 1600 lb-ft. Here’s what else the PP03 brings to the table:

• All wheel drive
• Single reduction gear / limited slip axle differentials
• Steel tubular spaceframe with carbon fiber body
• Electrically assisted power steering
• 4-way adjustable shock absorbers
• Ventilated brake discs 378 mm front / 330 mm rear
• 320/710 R18 slick tyres / 13” × 18” wheels
• Top speed of 156 mph

Drive eO is no stranger to electric race cars. It was first to complete the Dakar Rally with a hybrid racer. It also has experience with the unique challenges of the Pikes Peak hill climb. It ran the course last year in a specially modified Tesla Roadster. By the way, for those of you not familiar with electrical energy, one megawatt of power is enough to run 164 average American homes according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Zowie!