Ford SuperVan Wins Goodwood Festival Of Speed Hillclimb Race
Ford Performance driver Romain Dumas followed up Saturday’s top qualifying time for the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb with a commanding victory in the final runs of the iconic English event on Sunday.
Dumas drove the Ford SuperVan 4.2 electric demonstration vehicle up the 1.16-mile course in 43.88 seconds, which was quicker than his 45-second time on Saturday and delivered a commanding win.
The all-wheel-drive van has three electric motors that generate 1,400 hp total output and bodywork that can generate 4,400 pounds of downforce at 150 mph, making it ideal for hillclimb trials.
As in qualifying, Scott Speed finished second in the 670 hp Subaru WRX: Project Midnight built for the event by Subaru Motorsports USA, with a time of 46.07.
Third went to a Porsche 993 GT3 Cup race car at 48.04 and fourth to the Alpine A110 Pikes Peak hillclimb special at 48.61.
The next electrified car was the American-made Czinger 21C hybrid in fifth at 48.82 seconds, which is a new event record for production vehicles. It features an in-line tandem two-seat layout and pairs a 2.88-liter V8 with three electric motors for a combined 1,250 hp.
The SuperVan 4.2 had previously claimed a class win at the 2023 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and also holds the overall closed car lap record on Australia’s Mount Panorama Circuit.
Ford has also built an F-150 Lightning SuperTruck that’s based on the same technology as the SuperVan 4.2 won the 2024 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Dumas behind the wheel.
The SuperTruck is both more powerful and has higher downforce, with ratings of 1,600 hp and 6,000 pounds in Pikes Peak trim.
Ford hasn’t yet announced future events for the SuperVan 4.2 or SuperTruck, both of which are designed specifically to demonstrate the capabilities of electric vehicles and are not designed for any specific racing series or destined for production.
Update: Ford clarified that it had tuned the SuperVan to 2,000 hp for the Goodwood event
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