There’s no runoff at Pikes Peak. No gravel traps. No tire barriers. Just 12.42 miles of asphalt climbing from 9,390 feet to the 14,115-foot summit, with 156 corners and — for significant sections — nothing between you and a several-thousand-foot drop except your right foot and your nerve.
The Mountain
Pikes Peak sits in the Colorado Rockies. The road was fully paved in 2011, transforming the event from a dirt-and-gravel rally into an all-asphalt speed trial. Before 2011, the upper sections were loose gravel and dirt — competitors slid through corners at triple-digit speeds with zero margin for error. The transition to full pavement made the cars faster, the lap times lower, and the event somewhat less terrifying. Somewhat.
The challenge isn’t just the corners — it’s the altitude. At the summit, the air is 42% thinner than at sea level. Internal combustion engines lose up to 40% of their power by the top. A 1,000-horsepower car at the start line might be making 600 at the finish. Turbocharged cars fare better because the turbo can compensate for the thinner air by spinning faster — but only up to a point. Electric cars have an even bigger advantage: no oxygen needed. This is why VW’s ID.R shattered the record in 2018 with Romain Dumas at the wheel.
The altitude affects the driver too. At 14,000 feet, oxygen deprivation impairs reaction time and decision-making. Drivers who train at sea level arrive weeks early to acclimate. Some use supplemental oxygen systems in the car. The physical effects compound the mental demands of memorizing 156 corners — most of which you cannot see the exit of until you’ve already committed.
The Cars
Hill climb cars have no rulebook beyond “pass technical inspection.” This freedom produces some of the most creative engineering in motorsport:
- Unlimited class cars are open-wheel spaceframes with wings the size of ping-pong tables. At speed, the aero load is so high that the suspension barely moves — the car rides on downforce.
- Time Attack builds with 1,500+ horsepower and active aero that adjusts wing angle based on GPS position on the course.
- Electric prototypes with instant torque unaffected by altitude. The ID.R used two electric motors producing 680 hp in a car that weighed under 1,100 kg, with a battery pack specifically designed to last exactly one Pikes Peak run.
- Production-based builds in various classes, from showroom stock to heavily modified. The diversity of machinery on the mountain is part of what makes the event so compelling — a 500-hp Open class prototype might share the course with a near-stock Subaru WRX.
The Legendary Runs
- Ari Vatanen (1988) — Climb Dance, the short film of his Peugeot 405 T16 run, is the most viewed piece of hill climb footage ever made. One hand on the wheel, one hand blocking the sun, dirt flying everywhere. The film won awards and introduced millions to the event.
- Rod Millen (1994) — Held the record for 13 years in a Toyota Celica. The longevity of his record spoke to how far ahead of his time the car was.
- Sébastien Loeb (2013) — Shattered the record in a Peugeot 208 T16 by over a minute and a half. 8:13.878. The onboard footage is terrifying — he carries more speed through blind corners than most drivers carry on straights.
- Romain Dumas / VW ID.R (2018) — 7:57.148. The first car under 8 minutes. All-electric, all-wheel-drive, and completely silent except for the wind. Watching the onboard is eerie — there is no engine noise, just the sound of the tires fighting for grip and the air rushing past the cockpit at 200 km/h.
Pikes Peak is not the longest race, not the richest, and not the most famous. But it is the one that drivers from every discipline — rally, circuit racing, endurance, even motorcycle road racing — put on their bucket list. The mountain does not care about your resume or your horsepower figure. It just asks one question: can you drive 156 corners without making a single mistake? Answer wrong, and there is no runoff to save you. Answer right, and you join a lineage that goes back over a century, to 1916 when the first race was run on a gravel track that barely qualified as a road. That is the draw. That is Pikes Peak.
The mountain has been hosting this race since 1916, making it the second-oldest motorsport event in America after the Indianapolis 500. It has survived two world wars, a complete repaving, and the transition from internal combustion to electric power. Every era of automotive engineering has been tested here, and the mountain has rendered its verdict on all of them: the clock does not care how you make your power, only how fast you reach the summit.
Related: For another form of time-attack competition, read time attack racing explained. And for the desert rally that makes Pikes Peak look short: Dakar Rally.