So what did he modify? “It’s built in the true spirit of a Time Attack car, so it’s a completely stock drivetrain and bodyshell but stretched out with Pikes Peak mods. The aero kit we’ve created comprises of a flat floor, a large rear wing and a sculpted front splitter, plus dive planes, front-wheel vents and side skirts. So it’s pretty comprehensive: it has more downforce than a GT3 car.”
Fat 18in Yokohama slick tyres, three-way adjustable Penske dampers and GT3-style Alcon brakes add to the enhanced spec.
“The thing is so heavy, even with all the weight saving and stripping out we’ve done: still around 2100kg. So you need something good to stop it,” says Shute. “On the drivetrain, Hyundai had some head room to give us a little more power and torque: 687bhp, rather than the 641bhp we started with. It has been cool working with their engineers, on a lot of software work and understanding of the car.”
So, what’s it like to drive? “A lot of fun. The road car is the most fun EV I’ve driven, because it drives like a Group B rally car. It’s got all that power, all-wheel drive and a playful chassis. When I first drove the Ioniq [5 N], actually it reminded me of a French hot hatch with rear-wheel drive. Then the race car is that on steroids, with a lot more grip and downforce, and it goes a good bit quicker still. It’s amazing how much you can throw the thing around when it’s 2100kg. You’re really pushing the limits of adhesion.”
Drivers require an oxygen feed for the 4720ft climb to the summit’s altitude of 14,115ft. Shute loves it, because the mountain remains “one of the ultimate proving grounds”. But time for full runs on what is a public road is usually limited to the race itself, with drivers practising the course bit by bit – unless you’re with a major manufacturer.
“We did a private test early last week,” says Shute. “We got seven full runs in with the two modified cars: do one, bring it back down and charge it, do another run in the other car, come back down, jump in the first and repeat. I did more full mountain runs in that day than in the rest of my Pikes Peak career, and I’m a four-time winner!”