The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the most historic and well-known races on the planet, and for decades it has attracted speed freaks and thrill seekers from all over. In recent years, Pikes Peak has also become a hotbed for vehicles boasting unusual, unique, and weird combinations of high tech gadgets and old-school pushrod horsepower.
2013 will be no different, and the first competitors are already announcing their intentions to conquer the peak in the name of their sponsor. Love Fabrication joined forces with turbocharger maker Garrett for the “Turbo by Garrett/LoveFab Pikes Peak Enviate”, a custom Pikes Peak racer based on an Acura NSX and powered by a turbocharged LS1 engine.
Ya, read that last sentence one more time, then meet us at the next paragraph.
Apparently what LoveFab owner Cody Loveland has done is take a stock Acura NSX, strip it down to the bare subframe and suspension, and rebuild the car from the ground up using all sorts of 21st century technologies. This includes a full carbon fiber and a chromoly-tube chassis that helps keep the weight under 2,000 pounds.
But the centerpiece of this Pikes Peak racer is a twin-turbocharged, dry-sump LS1 with a stated goal of 800 ft-lbs of torque. Loveland cites a lack of torque as the reason for their failures last season, when the LoveFab team launched off the course at 60 MPH on the second day. Hopefully they’ll find better luck on the Peak this year.