Nissan LEAF Bags First Pikes Peak Electric Production Class Trophy

This weekend’s 89th edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb saw clear skies and good weather, a perfect setting of the all-electric Nissan LEAF to shine and enjoy its glory, as it has grabbed the first trophy in the Electric Production Class. Even though the all-electric car was almost stock, with the exception of the added safety cage and tires specially designed for the conditions, it managed to outpace some combustion engined cars.

In the end, the official time to beat all others in the Electric Production Class was 14 minutes 33 seconds. The race ran on a 12.42 mile long course with 154 turns, starting at an altitude of 9,390 feet and finishing at the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak. At the top, the thinner air can take up 30 percent of some conventional-engined cars’ power, but the electric drivetrain of the Nissan was unaffected.

“The LEAF was great fun to drive up the mountain,” said veteran Nissan off-road truck racing champion Chad Hord. “With the instant torque from the electric motor we were able to jump out of the many slow corners and the performance was very consistent from the bottom to the top since the electric motor wasn’t affected by the high altitude near the summit like the gasoline powered cars.”

“The Nissan LEAF and Chad both performed flawlessly this week,” said Ron Stukenberg, senior manager, Marketing Communications, Motorsports. “This was an innovative way to demonstrate that 100 percent electric vehicles perform very well in highly demanding situations like the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.”