Electric beasts conquer Pikes Peak

Not even stopping was enough to stop Romain Dumas from claiming the 2024 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Ford’s wild F-150 ‘SuperTruck’.

The Frenchman was forced to come to a complete halt and reboot his electric prototype, losing approximately 26 seconds in the process, but still had enough speed to make up for his unscheduled delay and claim overall honours.

READ MORE: Great Drive – Peaks Peak Highway

Dumas took 8:53.553, which ended up well short of the outright record (which Dumas holds in the Volkswagen ID.R), and was even slightly slower than the SuperVan 4.2 we drove in 2023.

“I’m honoured to achieve this victory with Ford Performance at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb,” Dumas said after his run. “Everything about this event is a challenge because it is unlike any other form of racing, you only have one shot. We faced a challenge early on but that only gave me more determination to make up the lost time in the rest of the run.”

Ford is using events like Pike Peak to build its ‘demonstrators’ like the SuperTruck and SuperVan to learn about electric vehicle technology, for both future road cars and its upcoming Formula 1 entry with Red Bull Racing.

“The progression of Ford electric vehicles taking on and completing the toughest challenges is a major testament to the hard work and dedication our teams have put into the program,” explained Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “We learned a great deal from SuperVan 4.2 in last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill climb and were able to apply that knowledge to this year’s run. It’s onward and upward from here.”

Ford wasn’t the only manufacturer celebrating after this year’s hill climb. In the Exhibition class Hyundai took top spot, with World Rally star Dani Sordo driving the wild-looking Ioniq 5 N Time Attack special running up the mountain in 9:30.852. Unlike the purpose-built Ford, Hyundai’s entries were largely factory-spec, although Sordo’s entry did have new dampers, motorsport-grade brakes, slick tyres and new aerodynamics. However, the powertrain was largely untouched and to underline its potential as a production car, a standard Ioniq 5 N (driven by social media personality Ron Zaras) managed to make the climb in 10:49.267.

“We are absolutely thrilled to set a new record at Pikes Peak and our performance overall,” said Till Wartenberg, Vice President and Head of N Brand and Motorsport at Hyundai Motor Company. “Going forward, we plan to continue leveraging exciting motorsports activities such as Pikes Peak to showcase the superior performance of our mass-produced vehicles and continue to develop technology that not only meets customer needs but exceeds their expectations.”