The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, rare among globally famous races, maintains an easy-to-find list of records for every current and former class the race has welcomed in its 101-year history. There are three blank spaces in the Eligible Non-Division Records section: Production Truck/Van, Electric Production SUV/Crossover, and Electric Modified SUV/Crossover. The small print underneath the title informs any willing entry that “a record attempt must be declared in advance.” You can fill Hyundai in for at least one of those blank SUV/Crossover lines, and we suspect both will be in play: The Korean manufacturer announced it’s taking four Ioniq 5 N electric crossovers to the Colorado start line this June.
The two cars we know most about are a pair of production-spec examples made fit for racing. Nothing’s changed from what’s on the showroom floor other than safety features common to such a competition. The back seats have been omitted to fit a roll cage, there’s a fire suppression system, and Recaro Pro Racer SPA Hans driver’s seat with a six-point Sabelt harness. Underneath, there will be the everyday dual-motor powertrain sending a max 641 horsepower through Yokohama Advan tires. The special N division livery unveiled for the run will add five horsepower or so, naturally. These two cars will be driven by 11-time PPIHC winner Paul Dallenbach, and ex-Hoonigan executive and PPIHC first-timer Ron Zaras.
We figure the Hyundai’s going after the modified record because it said it will also show a modified Ioniq 5 N before a race at the Nürburgring 24-Hour race on May 30, without giving any details as to the mods. These will be driven by Robin Shute, who won the overall title at last year’s PPIHC, and Hyundai World Rally Championship team driver Dani Sordo.
Hyundai’s made regular trips to run the 12.42-mile course that climbs 4,725 feet, the first time in 1992 when Rod Millen won the Two-Wheel-Drive Showroom Stock class in a Hyundai Scoupe. Frequent visits from then until 2009 became annual visits, somebody running a Hyundai for 10 straight years, to 2018. Since neither EV SUV/Crossover record’s been set, Hyundai’s sure to walk away with an award. The last big factory effort was in 2013, when Rhys Millen in the Hyundai RMR PM580-T finished second to Sebastien Loeb in the Unlimited Class, and Paul Dallenbach set a class record in winning the Time Attack division with a Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
