Mitsubishi has come up with a new and thoroughly updated version of its MiEV Evolution electric race car for this year’s Pikes Peak hill climb challenge. The Type III version features a number of significant changes, including reduced weight and increased power.
Mitsubishi MiEV Evo III boasts a four electric motor drivetrain (two front/two rear), each of them a modified version of the same motor that goes into the unsuccessful MiEV city car. They are arranged to work in tandem with the Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) all-wheel drive technology, which is a good thing, as the total output is significantly higher than before.
Compared to the last year’s car which had 400 kW (536 bhp), the Mitsubishi MiEV Evo III packs a full 450 kW (603 bhp). Meanwhile redesigned tube-frame chassis with new structural materials has resulted in reduced weight, and revised bodywork/spoiler improves the aerodynamics. The all-wheel-drive system is also tweaked to cope with the extra oomph.
Mitsubishi hopes these changes will result in decent performance at the 92nd running of the “Race to the Clouds” on June 29th.
“Pikes Peak is an excellent laboratory for testing our advanced MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) technology,” states Don Swearingen, executive vice president Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA), “it not only features high elevations but also a range of weather conditions to challenge the performance and reliability of our technology.”
