New diesel record at Pikes Peak

Of the diesel vehicles taking on the mountain at this past Sunday’s 101st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb run, none were more recognizable than Old Smokey. Piloting his 1,300 hp Banks Banks Monster Ram-equipped Cummins-powered 1949 Ford F1, Scott Birdsall’s goal was to beat his time of 11:24.065 set in 2020 with the same truck. Unfortunately, his worst fear was realized. Traveling 90 mph into Lightning Corner, the truck suffered total brake failure. He did his best to scrub off some of the speed by turning into the corner but his momentum was too great. The truck launched 175 feet down the cliff landing on its hood, then rolled 8 or 9 times before coming to a stop on a snow drift.

Scott’s diesel record was beaten by Grégoire Blachon, a Frenchman who returned to the mountain this year with a prototype powered by a tri-turbo Volkswagen four-cylinder diesel. The Radical SR prototype boasted 440 horsepower. The setup begins with a tiny 24mm turbo, which generates 20 psi of boost at idle and maxes out at 45 psi. When its turbine reaches 240,000 rpm its variable-geometry vanes open up, and it redirects its wastegate into the second 45mm turbo. It’s already spooled by this point, and when it hits 165,000 rpm it repeats the process to feed the third, 71mm snail. This all results in 70 psi of peak boost. “3,600 rpm to 5,200 rpm is a flat power curve between torque crossover and power,” says Blachon. “So, at any time that you decide to floor it—no exception—the car rockets out.” The turbos, along with five years on the mountain paid off with a record-breaking time of 10:25.071, trouncing Birdsall’s record by almost a minute.

But Blachon may not be able to hold onto the record for long. A 6.0L Power Stroke-swapped Nissan GT-R passed Birdsall’s mark too, with a time of 11:06.535. The team behind the car told The Drive that they think they can shave another 35 seconds off putting them within Blachon’s record. We’ll have to wait ’til next June to find out.