Friday 29th May 2009

Ford Fiesta To Take On Pikes Peak

800bhp Fiesta will compete in The Race to the Clouds

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Ford is preparing to enter the scariest event in motorsport when it tackles the infamous Pikes Peak in a monster 800bhp Fiesta.

Rally ace Marcus Gronholm will take the wheel in the Fiesta that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Ford Focus WRC car, as many of the components are shared between the two. The ferocious Fiesta will use a retuned 2.0-litre Duratec engine, and will run in the Unlimited class at the event where there are no restrictions on power.

Known as ‘The Race to the Clouds’, Pikes Peak is America’s second oldest motorsport event and covers a 12.4 mile course that finishes 4300 metres (14,100ft) above sea level in the Rocky Mountains. Rally nuts have been tackling the twisty Colorado hill route since 1916 in a variety of open-wheeled machines. Open-wheelers still compete alongside a variety of other classes, but the big guns now race in the Unlimited class where anything up to 1000bhp is the norm.

Ford and Gronholm will have some tough opposition not only in the shape of veteran Pikes Peak runner and multiple winner Nobuhiro Tajima, who currently holds the course record at 10 minutes 01.408 seconds for his 2007 run in a 1000bhp Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb, but also a sister Fiesta being run by the Olsberg Motor Sport Evolution team who will prepare Gronholm’s car.

Whatever the outcome, Ford are using the event as a marketing exercise ahead of the launch of the Fiesta in the States. The family hatch will go on sale later next year in the US and Ford hope that high profile events like Pikes Peak will help endear the Fiesta to US buyers.

[Brabus Jord]

The above said: "in a 100bhp Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb, "

only 100 bhp holds the record... ?

Edited by Brabus Jord on Friday 29th May 12:39

[Marf]

Missing a zero there methinks

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/17/suzuki-sport-xl...

[wab172uk]

Great idea from Ford.

Produce an almightly performance Fiesta to promote the car, then don't offer anything more sporty than a Zetec S to the customer.

[Quattronaut]

"The ferocious Fiesta will use a retuned 2.0-litre Duratec engine"

Retuned is it? Not kidding - 800bhp from 2 litres? Christ dans une bicyclette

Edited by Quattronaut on Friday 29th May 12:45

[Wammer]

I always remember the almighty suzuki escudo from gran turismo 2.

[Quattronaut]

Wammer said:

I always remember the almighty suzuki escudo from gran turismo 2.

Yes! That was a beast - you could basically win any race, even if you scraped round the barriers..

I recall spending hours trying to make that thing drivable, buggering about with the suspension settings. Never really worked.

[carsnapper]

Quattronaut said:

"The ferocious Fiesta will use a retuned 2.0-litre Duratec engine"

Retuned is it? Not kidding - 800bhp from 2 litres? Christ dans une bicyclette

Edited by Quattronaut on Friday 29th May 12:45

"retuned"....you'll be talking A BIG turbo then?!

[Spiritual_Beggar]

800hp.....hows it going to control that through the front wheels!!! Should have been 4wd.

[v15ben]

Christ, how much power does that Rover in the photo have?
That is a crazy piece of engineering

[dougc]

v15ben said:

Christ, how much power does that Rover in the photo have?
That is a crazy piece of engineering

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stLOADS!!!

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[Turbobanana]

Quattronaut said:

"The ferocious Fiesta will use a retuned 2.0-litre Duratec engine"

Retuned is it? Not kidding - 800bhp from 2 litres? Christ dans une bicyclette

Edited by Quattronaut on Friday 29th May 12:45

Shouldn't that be Christ SUR une bicyclette? He's unlikely to be IN it...

[v15ben]

Makes sense Doug.
Would be ideal for BBQs though

[bdarepat]

The event is better known as the 'Race to the Clouds'

http://www.ppihc.com/

[SystemParanoia]

suzuki XL7

[Dave^]

Spiritual_Beggar said:

800hp.....hows it going to control that through the front wheels!!! Should have been 4wd.

[carsnapper]

dougc said:

v15ben said:

Christ, how much power does that Rover in the photo have?
That is a crazy piece of engineering

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stLOADS!!!

Fire

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err, well TBH we never found out since the exhaust back pressure was never high enough to get it spinning in the first place!

[Quattronaut]

Turbobanana said:

Quattronaut said:

"The ferocious Fiesta will use a retuned 2.0-litre Duratec engine"

Retuned is it? Not kidding - 800bhp from 2 litres? Christ dans une bicyclette

Edited by Quattronaut on Friday 29th May 12:45

Shouldn't that be Christ SUR une bicyclette? He's unlikely to be IN it...

you're quite right you know

merci bien

[dkennedyvxt]

carsnapper said:

dougc said:

v15ben said:

Christ, how much power does that Rover in the photo have?
That is a crazy piece of engineering

None

None

None

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None

Still None

stLOADS!!!

Fire

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err, well TBH we never found out since the exhaust back pressure was never high enough to get it spinning in the first place!

HUGE respect for trying....start big, work backwards. Reminds me of a conversation with this crazy Irish lad at the 'Ring who had hired a track prepared BWM...spun 3 times on the first lap and then confessed to exceeding the limit of the car and working backwards from there. Then he kept uttering the word "potatoes".....crazy chap.

[nicholasm]

wab172uk said:

Great idea from Ford.

Produce an almightly performance Fiesta to promote the car, then don't offer anything more sporty than a Zetec S to the customer.

Yes, at least when Peugeot did it they offered the 405 Mi-16 (which surely must have been a SOTW in the past). TBH, I'm just angling the subject towards Peugeot at Pikes Peak as an excuse to link to this old favourite!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q54m1hP6nrg

[V6]

dougc said:

v15ben said:

Christ, how much power does that Rover in the photo have?
That is a crazy piece of engineering

None

None

None

None

None

Still None

stLOADS!!!

Fire

Nothing