The Land Rover Range Rover Sport has set a new record for production SUVs up the famous Pikes Pike International Hill Climb course. The course has become completely tarred over the years so records are available to any and all cars that attempt the run. We didn’t know production cars were even credited with timed runs at Pikes Peak so we expect this to be the first of many time attacks up the tarred hill.
The Range Rover Sport features Land Rover’s 380 kW supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine, it can do 0 – 100 km/h in less than 5 seconds, it has seating for seven (if optioned) and for this record attempt it had racer and stunt driver, Paul Dallenbach, behind the wheel. He is a veteran of Pikes Peak and lives in Colorado and he managed to ascend the 20-odd km course in just 12 minutes 35.61 seconds, making for an average speed of 95 km/h. The Range Rover Sport altered from production specification only in the fitment of a roll cage and harness seatbelts to meet racing safety requirements.
The time was verified by Pikes Peak International Hill Climb organisers. “There’s no margin for error at Pikes Pike. You only need to misjudge one of those 156 turns and you’re into the trees or over the edge of the mountain,” Dallenbach said. Those 156 turns climb through over 1.4 km of elevation change meaning at the top there is only 58% of the oxygen normally available at sea level. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race, widely known as ‘The Race To the Clouds’, will take place on June 30th.
