The Japanese manufacturer showed the world the fully electric version of the Suzuki Vitara at a press conference in Milan. We were also present at the event and reported on it. Encouraged by this, we searched for the wildest Suzuki Vitara of all time, which is, among other things, legendary Pikes PeakHe also started on the mountain ramp in , and crushed everyone.
A Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak Special
In 1994, the Japanese manufacturer built a special Escudo model (this is how the Vitara was named in Japan), which was specifically designed for mountain racing. The car received two engines: each axle was driven by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The total output of the two engines reached 900 horsepower and what is even worse is that the weight of the Escudo racing machine was only 900 kilograms.
The exceptionally light and powerful machine was driven by Japanese pilot Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, who finished fifth in the 1994 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
However, in 1995, Tajima won the event, becoming the first Japanese driver to win at Pikes Peak.
His time result was 7:53.000, which was also faster than Tajima in 2006, who produced a time of 7:38.900. Only the Volkswagen I.D. R he was able to approach this result in 2018 with a run of 7:57.148.
By 1996, Suzuki had developed a new Escudo racing car, which was already equipped with an engine. The new version was powered by a 2.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine that produced 600 horsepower as a base, but this could be boosted up to 800 horsepower when used hard. In 1997, this engine was also replaced; at that time, a 2.5 liter V6 unit was used, which was capable of 995 horsepower, and the weight of the car was only 800 kg.
In 1998, 1999 and 2000, Tajima won all three Queenstown Gold Rush mountain races, and in 2006 he was able to win again at Pikes Peak in the aforementioned record time.
The run-up to victory from 1995, recorded in time:
The Suzuki Vitara has participated in many international off-road rallies, such as the Dakar Rally, the Australasian Safari and the Asia Cross Country Rally. With this, the Suzuki brand has shown what it is capable of not only in the world of urban off-road vehicles, but also in the world of racing.
Finally, you can see the twin-engine racing car from 1994 naked:
Source: www.vezess.hu
