Porsches That Hit New Heights at Pikes Peak Hill Climb: Track Time Tuesday Presented by Yokohama Tire’s ADVAN APEX
This year a Porsche 935 will challenge the brutal Pikes Peak. It follows in the footsteps of some brutal, record-breaking Porsches.Â
156 turns. 10 minutes. 12 miles. 14,000 feet. Those are just a few reasons the brutish Pike’s Peak Hill Climb is a thrilling racing event like no other.
Porsche recently announced that veteran racer Jeff Zwart will once again be taking on the notorious annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on August 30. Zwart has run the Colorado-based hillclimb 17 times since 1994; and done so behind the wheel of about a dozen different Porsche 911s. This year, Zwart is driving a custom 700 horsepower Porsche 935 against the terrain and elements that are a part of the the aptly-called “Race to the Clouds.”
“It all boils down to one run,” Zwart told Porsche’s Christophorus. “You push everything to the limits: the engine temperature, the tire wear, and your own body with the thin air.”
Participants in cars and motorcycles race to the summit, battling the road and the increase of 4,720-ft. in elevation. In addition to the twisty climb and exertion put on the car’s powertrain and suspension; the road spent many years unpaved. You would think this would be a damper to Porsche, as a decidedly more track and road ready car. But year after year, Porsche has shown up and impressed.
Porsche is the best car to meet the challenge for Zwart. “When I get into a Porsche, it feels like I’m wearing the car. It feels so natural that it could just be an extension of myself. That’s exactly the feeling you want—a car that is part of you.”
This week’s Track Time Tuesday we feature some of Porsche’s greatest feats at defying gravity.
2019
BPI Autosports turned a 991 Porsche 911 in a mountain-taming 900 hp monster. The Porsche build was documented along the way by Hoonigan.
In the end, the twin-turbo Porsche 911 GT3 was not just able to bend the will of physics; it ended up breaking records as Fastest Car With a Roof Time of 9:23.
