The year Pikes Peak went Hard as Hell
These batshit-crazy mountain drivers were even more intense than usual
Happy Race Day! especially to automotive designer Dalal Elsheikh.
Elsheikh is a host on the NBC show Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge that premiered recently. The show offers contestants a chance to build creations that end up as real Hot Wheels on store shelves. It has a fun spirit:
But Elsheikh hasn’t been received with all positivity. The car world can still be a hostile place for women, and particularly women of color. On Tuesday she took to Instagram with a powerful message about representation.
The funny thing is, if the people criticizing Elsheikh took a single moment to research her, they’d see she’s more than qualified. A designer at Ford, she told the website Nerds of Color that Hot Wheels “helped me really discover my love of taking things apart,” and bond with classmates after immigrating from Sudan.
What could be more inspiring, and more American, than that? Obviously we’ll be rooting for Elsheikh to continue breaking boundaries and paving the way for more people like her in the car world.
Have you watched Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge yet? You can see the trailer here. If you check it out drop us a line and let us know what you think!
At Pikes Peak, the Mountain Always Wins
The weekend saw the 101st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as the ‘Race to the Clouds’ or the annual ‘Gathering of the Masochists.’ (I made that last one up.)
The week of racing is defined by 2:00am wakeup calls, freezing temperatures and a stunning lack of oxygen at the top. There’s also the danger of tumbling off the hillside at 100+ mph. The mountain has claimed lives.
This year there was a lot going on. Here’s a rundown of the biggest headlines:
Lia Block honored her late father in touching tribute: Only a few months after the passing of her father, extreme sports legend Ken Block, the teenage race driver Lia Block piloted his incredible racecar up the mountain. It was untimed, but this run was the most poignant of the week. It’s the same pink Porsche we saw up close a few months back.
Watch the 2023 champion at full speed: The best time overall went to four-time winner (and Long Beach native ayoooo) Robin Shute in a Wolf TSC open-wheel racecar. You can watch the full onboard video of the winning run, and an interview with Shute at 14,000 feet of elevation, right here.
Ford’s 1,400-horsepower EV made a statement: It didn’t win, but the Ford SuperVan captured a lot of hearts. This mega-minivan had three electric motors, outrageous aerodynamics and accomplished racing driver Romain Dumas behind the wheel to capture 2nd overall and win its class by 30 seconds.
Driver of 74-year old zombie truck narrowly escapes tragedy: Another oddball Ford, a 1949 pickup with a massive Cummins diesel engine, fell prey to the mountain. Scott Birdsall drove the truck to a record time in 2020 but this time he experienced a braking failure and sailed 175 feet off the mountain. Thankfully, he was not injured. Click the link to see the aftermath.
Radford gets a rad showing: Stunt driver Tanner Foust piloted the stunning Radford Type 62 racecar, an effort launched in part by former F1 driver Jenson Button, to a win in the Exhibition class. This is a seriously cool car that unfortunately isn’t shown in the video — you can see it here.
Disappointment for Dai: Professional drifter Dai Yoshihara carried the love of all JDM fans on the rear wing of his ENEOS Honda S2000. Unfortunately, its reliability couldn’t match its smoking hot looks. The S2000 had a failure and Dai had to retire. Still, we’re glad Pikes Peak brought us the gift of bringing this car into existence. Can’t wait to see what Dai and his team cook up for 2024.
What was your favorite moment from PPIHC 2023?
Ask A Millennial! Alan Macey
Alan founded the incredibly funny and surprisingly influential brand The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society which does exactly what it says in the name. On the heels of BMW’s recent announcement that it’s done with manual transmissions, and a couple of recent hilarious posts to the TMGPS account, I figured it was a good time to catch up and see what’s new with the man behind it.
Race Day: There are still 30 new vehicles on sale with a manual option — is this a good sign? Or fool’s gold?
Alan Macey: I think more importantly than the quantity, it’s encouraging to see brands either backtracking on plans to drop manuals (Porsche, Subaru) or really leaning into them as one of the key stories around a launch. Seeing the buzz around GR Corolla, manual option being the first leak on Tacoma, etc., has been really cool. Brands are realizing it’s a great way to speak to the values of their most enthusiastic patrons. Obviously it’s just a moment in time, but every generation of cars where manual is a consideration gives us another 5-10 years of hope!
RD: Does it mean something different for BMW to drop manuals than it would coming from another brand?
AM: I don’t really know what BMW means anymore. Car design and brands is my expertise. BMW was a perfect brand for decades. It was crystal clear: The Ultimate Driving Machine. Now as a result of them having hedged their bets in an awkward way it feels messy. Porsche has shown you can play it both ways as long as you stay true to your core values and brand image. To answer your question though, yes, it’s a total bummer. I love BMW and they’ve left a vacuum in a valuable niche, which is cars for grown-ups who love an engaging driving experience.
RD: What’s the key ingredient to keeping TMGPS fresh after almost a decade?
AM: TMGPS is from the heart. I sometimes feel disappointed that I can’t really say we’ve done anything measurable to “Save The Manuals,” but the enthusiasm of our audience and the people who reach out are what keeps me going. I have a vision for what TMGPS should really be, but whether or not I’m the right guy to do it, and finding the time and financial resources required to materialize it are the questions that continue to elude me. For the time being I’m focused on continuing to grow the community, and giving people some nice images and ideas to engage with. People seem to love the products and merchandise we put out there, too, which is obviously a big enabler in terms of being able to grow and maintain the community.
RD: Your Dom Toretto stuff had me rolling laughing — does the silliness of the Fast & Furious franchise overshadow its very real impact on car culture?
AM: First and foremost, Fast & Furious is entertainment, and if you start taking it too seriously you’ll probably ruin it. There is no question that it’s had a profound impact on car culture, and most importantly it has spoken to multiple new generations of enthusiasts. I’d love it if we had more stuff like Ronin, but clearly that’s not what puts asses in seats at the movie theater, so I’ll take what I can get!
And Finally…
Singer, the astronomically-priced custom Porsche tailor, yesterday revealed its latest project called the Dynamics & Lightweighting Study - Turbo with modern performance, aerodynamics and materials to create the jaw-dropping car above.
Whether you think it’s a triumph or an abomination, you can tell Singer doesn’t half-ass anything. Wanna work for them? RSVP to their hiring fair coming up in August.
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
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