The sports division of Ford has posted a video featuring its award-winning SuperVan 4.2 ascending the Pikes Peak trail. The annual Race to the Clouds took place in the Colorado Mountains in the USA this summer, but this footage from it hasn’t been revealed until now.
In case you need a reminder, the SuperVan 4.2 won the hill climb competition in its own category and came second in the overall standing, setting a new record. The car itself is a starkly modified SuperVan 4 that took part in the same racing event last year.
Formally considered an evolutionary next stage of the E-Transit van, it is essentially a custom build created specifically for this one race. Compared to the last year’s version, the new van has one electric motor less, which reduces its output from 2,000 to 1,400 horsepower, but also weighs a cool 400 kilos (880 pounds) less thanks to it.
Ford entered the competition in the Pikes Peak Open category, putting Romain Dumas behind the steering wheel. Dumas is a three-time champion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the absolute record holder of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He managed this year’s climb – which is 20 km (12.4 miles) long with 156 turns – in just 8 minutes 47.862 seconds, setting an absolute high score in the Open category. He also managed to improve the last year time by 36.751 seconds.