The Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb challenges drivers from around the world to let it all hang out as they tackle the notorious mountain course. Unlike sane motorsport events, where a mistake costs you a few seconds per lap, a mistake at Pike’s Peak could be your last. If driving flat-out on both paved and dirt roads, many without guardrails, sounds like your idea of fun, then you’ll love the video below.
Take a Polaris RZR, stuff in a one-liter Yamaha Apex motor and throw a turbo on it, and the net result is a 260 horsepower ATV. Eligible to run in the Exhibition Powersport class, this RXR-X looks to be a handful behind the wheel – check out driver Doug Siddens’ hand motions as he tries to keep the RZR pointed in the right direction. It’s amusing to watch, but I’m not sure I’d want to drive that beast up Pike’s Peak at speed.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
