Pikes Peak veteran and all-round top chap Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima has unveiled his weapon of choice for this year’s event – and it’s based on a
Toyota GT86
Super 86 isn't exactly heavily related to GT86
Well, we say ‘based’ – apart from a smattering of nods to the styling of the original car in its livery, the Super 86 racer that Tajima will be driving is likely to bear little relation to the road-going GT86, and indeed, looks to be a revamp of the
Suzuki SX4-esque
machine in which Tajima became the first man to break the Pikes Peak
10-minute barrier
back in 2011. No technical details have been announced as yet, but reports suggest that the car will be based around a space-frame chassis that’ll house four-wheel drive and a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 - all of which would tally with the SX4 comparison. Power estimates come in at around the 670hp mark. Well, they said the GT86 needed more...
He'll have stiff competition in the form of Seb Loeb, making his Pikes Peak debut in a factory-backed Peugeot 208 T16, but Tajima has experience on his side, his first-ever Pikes Peak having been way back in 1992, when Loeb was still at school. What’s more, one of his many business concerns, Monster Sport, develops and sells performance parts for a whole range of cars, among them the GT86; Monster Sport can also count race and rally conversion packs for the model within its repertoire.
Tajima does have previous with them, though
That’s not to mention the fact that, in his time, Tajima’s already managed to take the course record not once, but twice, the second time being that history-making 9:51.278. Rhys Millen, son of Tajima’s long-time Pikes Peak rival Rod, bested that record last year with a 9:46.164, when the
electric prototype
Tajima was racing overheated and retired in a smoky mess. No doubt his switch back to fossil fuels will mean Tajima will be aiming to re-take his crown with a vengeance. So watch out, Seb – there’s a Monster on your back...
Catch Tajima's Super 86 in action in the videos he's released here and here: