In 1994 Rod Millen piloted his custom Toyota Celica GT up an all-dirt Pikes Peak and set a record of 10:04.060. The 885 kg (1950 lb) race car features a tube chassis and carbon fiber body with the only stock part being the windshield. It’s powered by a turbocharged 2.1 L TRD inline-four used in All American Racers’ Eagle HF89 and Eagle MkIII race cars. The engine which goes by many names (503E, 3S-G, or 3S-GTM) reportedly made 850 horsepower and 1100 lb-ft of torque in the Celica and sends it to all four wheels through a 4WD drivetrain.
Source: TRD USA, HillClimb Monsters, and 19Bozzy92
Bit of a stretch to call this a “swap” 😛 Basically a sport prototype that looked somewhat similar to a Celica, sharing not a single part with it. Can’t even tell where it had its engine, in the front or at the back? Driver position tells me front-midships?
I would agree this is not a swap. However I’ve always wanted to write about it because of the history and engine choice.
Did you write about the Hyundai PM580 yet? That LMP Hyundai (had) built solely to tackle Pikes Peak? A mere footnote regarding Pikes Peak, but totally bonkers in its own right. MotoIQ did a great article on it.
Thanks for bringing that to our attention. We have not written about the Hyundai PM580. I will check out MotoIQ’s article.