Mitsubishi has not released full specs on their latest hill climb machine, though they did say that the i-MiEV prototype will be using the same EV components from the production unit - presumably its 63 horsepower single permanent magnet synchronous motor and 16-kw-hr lithium-ion battery pack. But because those numbers are rather unflattering for what is supposed to be a rallycar, we're suspecting that Mitsubishi is fitting in more than one motor in their racer.
The i-MiEV prototype's participation in Pikes Peak is not a demonstration run of Mitsubishi's technology, but is actually part of their on-going research to enhance the durability and reliability of their future electric vehicles. Still, that shouldn't stop them from chasing after the EV record of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, set last year by the Yokohama EV. In comparison, last year's winner, Monster Tajima in his 900 hp Monster Sport Suzuki SX4, did the 20-kilometer race to the 4,300 km summit in just 9 minutes and 51.278 seconds, whereas the Nissan Leaf completed the course in a leisurely 14 minutes and 33 seconds.
