Guess who else is going to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb? That’s right, Radford. The boutique car builder doing the modern homage to the 1969 Lotus Type 62 (based on the modern Lotus Evora) wants its name out there — and up there, among the public and at the top of the timesheets. This will be no mere demonstration. The company’s been working with various suppliers around the world on a purpose-built one-off that starts with the retail road car but is made to beat the challengers in the race’s Exhibition Class.
The aluminum chassis is now a full carbon composite monocoque bolted to new subframes. The supercharged 3.5-liter Toyota V6 that makes about 600 horses in the street car was stripped of all but the block and rebuilt by Jubu Performance to make about 710 horses. That mill shifts through a sequential transmission sending all power to the rear axle. With a claimed dry vehicle weight of 1,898 pounds, a quartet of custom Yokohama tires wrapping wider Dymag carbon fiber rims achieve 60 miles per hour in less than 2.2 seconds. Top speed happens at 160 miles per hour, getting back to zero happens thanks to AP Racing carbon brakes.
The carbon bodywork is nine inches wider, many of its new components 3D-printed. It hides further drivetrain upgrades like a more robust cooling system, new suspension geometry, and a new underbody. It doesn’t hide the larger, gooseneck wing bolted to the back. One centrally placed Tillet racing seat occupies the cabin, it will hold Tanner Foust. The do-it-all racer won his class at Pikes Peak in 2021 in a Porsche Cayman GT4. He’ll be racing against names like Rhys Millen, Michael Whiddett, Loni Unser, and Randy Pobst, and racing against cars like the Radical SR1 Diesel, Tesla Model S Plaid, Shelby Super Snake, and Ferrari 488 GT3.
Pikes Peak takes place Sunday, June 25. The Radford should be impossible to miss, but look out for car #4 racing to the clouds.
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