Recently, a news article announced the inroads Korean car manufacturers had made into the markets where Japanese makers used to dominate. Of late, Hyundai has also been funding the Millen motorsports team who have built the Veloster rallycross racer and the unlimited-class PM580, which was used to assault Pikes Peak a few weeks back.With the backing of Red Bull, Rhys Millen Racing designed this unlimited class racer with the aim of an outright win and a sub 10-minute time at Pikes Peak, which has stood as a time to beat for decades.
The race car looks more like a Group C endurance racer than one designed to tackle a mixed-surface course. From the pictures, you will see that the racer is truly purpose built, with the packaging just enough to accommodate the engine, transmission, all-wheel drive system and driver. The engine is a turbocharged Hundai V6 bored out to 4.1 liters, and rated at 750 horsepower.
With this in mind, Rhys Millen Racing is fabricating a modern Le Mans style car with a target weight of 1,850 pounds powered by a 4.1-liter Hyundai Lambda turbocharged V6 engine. Performance calculations and testing showed the engine capable of producing 750 horsepower. The entire car weighs in at 1,850 pounds, with the carbon fiber body enclosing high tech systems such as an active rear wing, which lessens its profile to reduce drag in high-speed straights. It also features an active center diff, which allows a torque split of 10 to 100 percent to the front wheels. This system was incorporated to handle the mixed dirt and asphalt surfaces that is present on the Pikes Peak course. Toyo Proxes tires were tasked to maintain the critical grip between the car and the road.
History shows that this car, despite a fast time of 9 seconds over the target 10 minutes, lost out to another specialized racer, that of Millen’s arch-rival Tajima. Coming in second must have been a big disappointment for the team, as this was the last year that the course would have a mixed-surface track. Being fully paved by next year, new setups and higher grip will produce several sub 10-minute times, but they will not stand out as having been made on a mixed-pavement course.
See source article here.
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