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posted by LaminatorX on Thursday July 02 2015, @01:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the lightning-fast dept.

Electric racing cars are in vogue right now. The first Formula E championship just concluded in London (sadly the Ars-sponsored car did not win), and this side of the pond saw an electric vehicle win the prestigious Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, setting a new record in the process. Rhys Millen took his Drive eO PP03 to the top of the mountain in 9:07.022, beating rival Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima by more than 20 seconds. The consequences of getting a corner wrong and going over the side don't bear thinking about.

The annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado is the second-oldest race in the US. It first took place in 1916, and it's a unique challenge for man and machine. Starting at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, cars race one at a time up the side of Pikes Peak, completing 156 turns in 12.4 miles (20km). It may be familiar to you from Gran Turismo 2, featuring prominently in that game, and indeed Polyphony Digital sponsored this year's race, making us wonder if the iconic event will reappear in GT7, whenever that happens to arrive.
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Electric vehicles (EVs) in particular have done well since the resurfacing. From the starting line at 9,390 feet (2,862m) above sea level, the cars climb another 4,720 feet (1,440m) to the summit, causing even forced induction engines to lose power as oxygen molecules become fewer and farther between. But electric motors don't have the same altitude problem, making just as much power and torque in a vacuum as they do at sea level. Consequently, it's become a place for people to test out new EV technology.


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  • (Score: 2) by WillR on Thursday July 02 2015, @04:00PM

    by WillR (2012) on Thursday July 02 2015, @04:00PM (#204289)
    I would guess it's microphone placement and the wind noise is drowning out everything else. Formula E cars make enough noise that you hear them coming: https://youtu.be/tE78Og1MdSw?t=12 [youtu.be] This probably does too if you have a stationary microphone instead of one on the outside of the car.
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