Honda has announced that its hyper-powered 2014 Honda HPD ARX-04b LMP2 contender/spaceship will make a run up the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb later this month. The climb will be part of an “exploratory effort” for a possible future attempt at besting the outright record of 8:13.878, which was set in 2013 when rally legend Sebastien Loeb brought a factory-backed 2013 Peugeot 208 T16 to the party.
Manning the helm of the ARX-04b will be IndyCar race winner and former Formula 1 driver, Justin Wilson. The Colorado-based Brit has an extensive racing resume, with 171 combined starts in IndyCar and Champ Car, including seven wins and eight poles.
"It’s going to be a lot of fun driving the Honda ARX-04b up the hill and giving it everything I’ve got," Wilson said. "This is my first time competing at Pikes Peak and I’m really looking forward to the experience. I’ve run with Honda at the Indy GP and the ‘500’ this year, and also have run Formula E and at the 12 Hours of Sebring. But this will be every bit as difficult as any of them. I’m looking forward to the challenge and working with everyone at Honda."
The ARX-04b will be the first full-carbon-fiber monocoque-based vehicle to see sanctioned entry for the event. It will compete in the Unlimited class, where only the most extreme range of highly modified cars vie for supremacy, with each expected to complete a run into the Colorado clouds in under 10 minutes.
“We want to see how well our ARX-04b chassis adapts to the rigors of the climb, and the high-altitude demands placed on our production-based V-6 engine," said Art St. Cyr, President of Honda Performance Development. "The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has always been an interesting project for many Honda divisions. The diversity of classes and very open nature of the rulebook continues to be very appealing to Honda and the passions of its associates.”
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