2018: Volkswagen enters Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Back to the Peak
Back to the Peak
The base for the hill climb is located at the foot of Pikes Peak, spectacularly illuminated by a sunrise in the photo – the city of Colorado Springs in the US state of Colorado.
Film: Volkswagen at the Pikes Peak mountain race in Colorado Springs/USA
When Klaus-Joachim "Jochi" Kleint climbed out of his dust-encrusted race car on July 11, 1987 after 12 miles (almost 20 km) at 4,000 m elevation, he could almost have bitten his steering wheel in frustration.
These pictures went around the world. Only 400 meters and the last three of 156 bends separated Kleint and his Golf II, which had been converted by Volkswagen into a high-performance hill climber, from his dream of victory in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
The world's toughest hill climb
This crazy motorsports event in the US state of Colorado has become the most prestigious hill climb in the world since it was first run in 1916. Each year, 120 vehicles now enter the event in 22 classes, from racing cars via production vehicles and motorcycles to race trucks, to become "King of the Mountain".
1980s: Volkswagen reaches for the stars three times
After taking part in the two previous years, Volkswagen driver Jochi Kleint made his third attempt to win the event in the summer of 1987. He was leading on the basis of an intermediate time and victory was in sight. But a faulty ball joint in the suspension already slowed him down after a few kilometers. What did Kleint do? The driver from northern Germany is a fighter and simply retiring was not an option. He stepped on the gas pedal, engaged the clutch, changed gear and steered over the course. He fought on doggedly as if it were a matter of life and death.
Which it was to a certain extent. The ideal line on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which starts at an elevation of 2,800 meters on the Pikes Peak Highway, a public road for the rest of the year, is only centimeters away from an unprotected precipice. With a chassis which was in anything but ideal condition, this was a daring enterprise.
The course: the Pikes Peak Highway, normally used as a public road, runs right up to the summit. Up to 2002, the entire highway had a graveled surface. Gradually, the whole of the twisty course was paved.
Three bends before the finishing line: Kleint stopped by suspension damage
As the deep gorges of the Rocky Mountains came closer and closer, it simply became too dangerous for Kleint. He had to abandon his record attempt only three bends before the finishing line.
In his race against the clock, he had already outpaced such well-known competitors and high-powered Group B vehicles as the Lancia Delta S4, the Ford RS200 or the Peugeot 205. Very reluctantly, he had to accept defeat by Walter Röhrl in his power-packed Audi Sport quattro S1, who completed the course in 10:47.850 minutes. But: "It was an unforgettable experience and a unique car," Kleint proudly remembers to this day.
1,400 meters elevation difference and 7 percent gradient
By that time, Jochi Kleint and his brightly painted Golf II had already mastered 153 bends, with a gradient of about 7 percent and an elevation difference of more than 1,400 meters. Racing legends such as the US driver Bobby Unser had already written motor sports history there. Unser, now 83 years old, won the Race to the Clouds, as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is also known, an incredible 13 times between 1955 and 1986.
Other unforgettable memories include the hotly contested duels fought in the "Open Rally Category" between Walter Röhrl and Ari Vatanen of Finland who was a strong competitor for the Audi works drivers with his turbocharged Peugeot in the 1980s.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a really high hill climb: apart from the tight serpentines, the thin mountain air at over 4,000 meters is a tremendous challenge for drivers and vehicles.
The additional challenge of the mountain air
The thin air at high elevations in the Rocky Mountains makes life even more difficult for people and vehicles. It gives the technicians who provide support for the cars is a tremendous additional task. Of course, this challenge is not faced by the electric vehicles which now have two classes of their own as their power plants do not need an air supply or turbocharging like an internal combustion engine. To put it quite simply, the thin air has no effect on an electric motor.
However, this did not apply to the team spearheaded by Volkswagen works driver Jochi Kleint. Following third place in 1985 and fourth place overall in 1986, he wanted to succeed at the third attempt. To make sure that he and the Golf which had been specially developed for Pikes Peak reached the finishing line of this superlative hill climb as quickly as possible, the engineers had to dig deep into their technical box of tricks.
"Volkswagen had developed a special Twin Golf with two engines – one turbocharged engine at the front and one at the rear – especially for my three Pikes Peak entries," the tragic hero of 1987 remembers. "The idea was to provide double power for the climb. It was an incredible car, from 0 to 100 in 3.4 seconds. This was a real highlight for me too."
A twin power plant for doubly high performance
To achieve this goal, Volkswagen broke new ground. Over six months in Essling, Austria, the team fitted a second engine in the rear of a standard Golf. The prototype then boasted two GTI 16-V engines. With a capacity of 1.8 liters, KKK turbochargers and 326 PS each, these engines were to join forces for the record attempt. The idea was that a double-engined car would be doubly sure of winning. However, the attempt was finally unsuccessful. Despite all the efforts made by the technical team and the driver, Kleint's third place in the overall classification of 1985 remains the best result achieved by Volkswagen.
Pikes Peak, July 11, 1987. Klaus-Joachim Kleint fights to the peak over the gravel in his 650 PS twin-engined Golf. The Volkswagen driver is heading for a record time when he is forced to retire only three bends from the finish.
New attempt on June 24, 2018
Next summer, or more precisely on June 24, 2018, Volkswagen will be making a new attempt to reach the pinnacle of all hill climb events. For its new attempt, Volkswagen is heading back to Colorado for the mother of all hill climbs for the first time after 30 years or so, apart from an entry by a local US importer with a racing Touareg. Volkswagen sees this as unfinished business.
Now, conditions are rather different to those faced back then by Kleint and Co. Since the end of 2011, the entire course leading up to the 4,301-meter summit, which used to be graveled, has been paved with asphalt. Nevertheless, Pikes Peak remains a daunting challenge.
"It is this one attempt that counts!"
"In sporting terms, you have one attempt to post a new best time. It is that attempt that counts," says Sven Smeets, Director of Motorsport at Volkswagen, commenting on the new mission. "Of course, you can practice and prepare yourself in the best possible way. But on the Sunday of the race, the driver is alone on the course with his car."
Looking forward to June 24, 2018: Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets.
On the one hand, the electric car to be specially developed for this event represents uncharted territory for Volkswagen's motorsport's experts. On the other hand, the engineers did not need to start entirely from scratch. "Some time ago, we already started to gather essential know-how and to develop the infrastructure required within our organization to keep pace with the strategic realignment of the Volkswagen brand," Smeets explains. "In technical terms, we now need to develop the best concept on the basis of regulations which pose very few restrictions."
The target: victory in class and new best time for electric prototypes
This way, Volkswagen aims to bring the mission started by Jochi Kleint to a conclusion. In specific terms, under the new conditions for electric vehicles, the driver entrusted with this task by Volkswagen is to win victory in his class and to set a new record time in the class for electric prototypes. The class record is currently held by Rhys Millen, who completed the race in 8:57.12 minutes in 2016 driving a battery-electric eO PP100. The newly developed electric prototype is to take the brand where many motorsports enthusiasts believe it has belonged for more than 30 years – to the summit of Pikes Peak!
Depending on weather conditions, the 4,301-meter-high summit of Pikes Peak can be reached all year round, either by car or via the cog railway. Its long motorsports history is one of the reasons why it is such a popular destination for visitors.
"Perfection is essential"
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets is convinced that the prospects of success are bright. "Especially with an electric vehicle, we need to find the optimum compromise between performance, energy capacity and weight. Everyone needs to reach perfection," he emphasizes. The experience gained by Volkswagen in the past with individual time trials on mountainous paved courses such as the Monte Carlo Rally and on classical racing circuits where the brand has been active for many years give him reason to be confident.
For the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, he believes that the classical qualities of a racing car, such as chassis, aerodynamics, weight distribution and brakes, all count. "Shaping a potentially winning package from these elements together with the new electric powertrain is a fantastic challenge for a team," Smeets, originally from Belgium, is pleased to report.
Source of photos:
iStock.com/RondaKimbrow, iStock.com/Scott Kramer, iStock.com/Adventure_Photo, Volkswagen AG, iStock.com/meseberg