SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
[...] Last weekend, we were on hand to witness French racing driver Romain Dumas and car maker Volkswagen stamp their authority on all 12.4-miles (19.99km) of the [Pikes Peak International Hill Climb] course, destroying the course's existing record and setting the first sub-eight minute time in race history. What makes the feat even more interesting around Ars is that the car in the record books is all-electric, marking perhaps the first time in major motorsport that a battery electric vehicle has beaten the internal combustion engine fair and square.
In retrospect, if any car has an advantage at Pikes Peak it's the EV. The start line is already at 9,390 feet (2,862m) above sea level; the finish line is an even higher 14,110 feet (4,300m) and much of the course is above the tree line where there's 40 percent less oxygen to breathe. Consequently, internal combustion engines will lose power—significantly—as they climb the route, even with the aid of forced induction or crafty fuel mixtures.
But electric motors don't care about partial pressures of oxygen, and these will output the same power and torque whether they're at the top of the mountain or the bottom.
More about the course can be found at Wikipedia and the Official Site.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Sunday July 01 2018, @10:51AM (1 child)
Was that with or without cheat mode engaged?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01 2018, @03:24PM
Yes well, that was the humorous implication in my original post, but some partypoopin' sore loser SJW antifa wacko had to jump in all ruin it all. As we saw in Portland, these people are dangerous, making bad people look like the good guys.