Who remembers the Pikes Peak Escudo?
Jul 18, 2007, 06:43 AM
#1
Who remembers the Pikes Peak Escudo?
From TopGear.com :
Pikey peak
How cool is this? In a chavvy, grossly over-the-top way, of course, but still incredibly cool. We haven't seen a rear wing that big since our ill-advised cruise along the Skegness beachfront.
This is Suzuki's big hope for victory in the Pikes Peak hill climb this weekend.
It's called the Suzuki Sport XL7 Hill Climb Special, and the gent with the slightly nervous look on his face is Japanese racing legend Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, who's hoping to set a new Pikes Peak record this year.
Tajima won the event last year despite crashing in practice, and this year he reckons Rod Millen's 1994 record could be in trouble.
He's got the car to do it, too. Based on the XL7 - Suzuki's US-only softroader - the Hill Climb Special is fitted with a 3.6-litre V6 sourced from GM.
The displacement might sound modest enough but, thanks to a pair of monster turbos, it puts out a massive 993bhp. Admittedly that's at sea level - it'll lose a bit of power in the thinner Colorado air - but that's still a scary figure.
The time that Takima will be looking to beat is 10m 4.06s over the 20km course - a record set by Millen's massively modded Toyota Celica that's stood for 13 years.
Could a sub-10 minute run be on the cards? We'll find out this weekend.
How cool is this? In a chavvy, grossly over-the-top way, of course, but still incredibly cool. We haven't seen a rear wing that big since our ill-advised cruise along the Skegness beachfront.
This is Suzuki's big hope for victory in the Pikes Peak hill climb this weekend.
It's called the Suzuki Sport XL7 Hill Climb Special, and the gent with the slightly nervous look on his face is Japanese racing legend Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, who's hoping to set a new Pikes Peak record this year.
Tajima won the event last year despite crashing in practice, and this year he reckons Rod Millen's 1994 record could be in trouble.
He's got the car to do it, too. Based on the XL7 - Suzuki's US-only softroader - the Hill Climb Special is fitted with a 3.6-litre V6 sourced from GM.
The displacement might sound modest enough but, thanks to a pair of monster turbos, it puts out a massive 993bhp. Admittedly that's at sea level - it'll lose a bit of power in the thinner Colorado air - but that's still a scary figure.
The time that Takima will be looking to beat is 10m 4.06s over the 20km course - a record set by Millen's massively modded Toyota Celica that's stood for 13 years.
Could a sub-10 minute run be on the cards? We'll find out this weekend.
Scorke
the thing would get to elevendy miles an hour in a heartbeat and good luck stopping it or turning
Jul 18, 2007, 02:01 PM
#7
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The twin engined Suzuki that this guy brought to Pikes Peak a few years ago was cooler!
The record will be in trouble only if they can run the full course this year.
Darin
The record will be in trouble only if they can run the full course this year.
Darin
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Jul 19, 2007, 06:36 AM
#9
Originally Posted by SoloEvo
I cannot wait to see this thing in action.
From TopGear.com
Devin
From TopGear.com
Here's one for you: who/what is the fastest driver/car combo ever? Senna in a 1,200bhp Lotus? Toivonen in a 600bhp Lancia Delta S4? Schumacher in a 950bhp Ferrari F1 car?
Nah, my nomination goes to Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima and his 1,000bhp Suzuki XL7 (read news story). Here's why...
If you ever wanted to see a proper 'no-rules' racing car, then Monster's new XL7 is it. Faster than a Group B rally car and with as much power as a Veyron, the Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special is arguably the fastest all-surface car on the planet.
You've probably driven (if you've got a PS2 and Gran Turismo, that is) the last car Monster drove at Pikes Peak: the incredible Suzuki Escudo. But this thing is even more insane.
The chassis is a steel space frame clothed in carbon Kevlar bodywork. The engine is a four-valve V6 with two turbos and a dry sump, and the transmission is four-wheel drive with a six-speed sequential 'box.
The wings? I think they're by Boeing.
The car weighs 1,100kg, giving a power-to-weight ratio of around 924bhp per tonne. Using a drag racing website that calculates performance figures based on weight and power, I've figured out that the XL7 should do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds and 0-100mph in 4.42.
Fast enough for you?
And the man? Forty-seven-year-old 'Monster' Tajima is arguably the most famous hill climber in the world. He has won nine All Japan Dirt Trial (Rally Sprint) Championships, the Pikes Peak hill climb twice and five Asia Pacific rallies in the 2WD class.
And after eight wins in New Zealand's legendary 'Race to the Sky' hill climb, the mountain is now known as 'Tajima's mountain'.
And while he's not carving a path to heaven in monstrous four-wheel-drive hill climbers, Tajima is busy being Team Principle of Suzuki's fledgling WRC effort.
Legend.
This year, he goes for the outright Pikes Peak record. I'm not going to bet against him.
Nah, my nomination goes to Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima and his 1,000bhp Suzuki XL7 (read news story). Here's why...
If you ever wanted to see a proper 'no-rules' racing car, then Monster's new XL7 is it. Faster than a Group B rally car and with as much power as a Veyron, the Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special is arguably the fastest all-surface car on the planet.
You've probably driven (if you've got a PS2 and Gran Turismo, that is) the last car Monster drove at Pikes Peak: the incredible Suzuki Escudo. But this thing is even more insane.
The chassis is a steel space frame clothed in carbon Kevlar bodywork. The engine is a four-valve V6 with two turbos and a dry sump, and the transmission is four-wheel drive with a six-speed sequential 'box.
The wings? I think they're by Boeing.
The car weighs 1,100kg, giving a power-to-weight ratio of around 924bhp per tonne. Using a drag racing website that calculates performance figures based on weight and power, I've figured out that the XL7 should do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds and 0-100mph in 4.42.
Fast enough for you?
And the man? Forty-seven-year-old 'Monster' Tajima is arguably the most famous hill climber in the world. He has won nine All Japan Dirt Trial (Rally Sprint) Championships, the Pikes Peak hill climb twice and five Asia Pacific rallies in the 2WD class.
And after eight wins in New Zealand's legendary 'Race to the Sky' hill climb, the mountain is now known as 'Tajima's mountain'.
And while he's not carving a path to heaven in monstrous four-wheel-drive hill climbers, Tajima is busy being Team Principle of Suzuki's fledgling WRC effort.
Legend.
This year, he goes for the outright Pikes Peak record. I'm not going to bet against him.
Devin
^Stolen from my roomate/evom buddy at large.
Scorke
Jul 19, 2007, 09:45 AM
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Heck yeah, when I was finally able to get that car in GT I used it for all the races I could...rally or road course, it didn't matter! It was a beast!
Jul 19, 2007, 01:30 PM
#11
dood.. that things so awsome..
can u imagin driving that thing.. in a single timed trial.. for 10 minutes strate.. every turn different... i meen.. u lookin at 3 minutes longer then doing a lap at the RING... and think how crazy that would be..
that doods nuts!.. and lucky... kinda
can u imagin driving that thing.. in a single timed trial.. for 10 minutes strate.. every turn different... i meen.. u lookin at 3 minutes longer then doing a lap at the RING... and think how crazy that would be..
that doods nuts!.. and lucky... kinda
Jul 19, 2007, 01:39 PM
#13
dood.. that things so awsome..
can u imagin driving that thing.. in a single timed trial.. for 10 minutes strate.. every turn different... i meen.. u lookin at 3 minutes longer then doing a lap at the RING... and think how crazy that would be..
that doods nuts!.. and lucky... kinda
can u imagin driving that thing.. in a single timed trial.. for 10 minutes strate.. every turn different... i meen.. u lookin at 3 minutes longer then doing a lap at the RING... and think how crazy that would be..
that doods nuts!.. and lucky... kinda
Scorke
