Now that the relationship between Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) and Hyundai is back on track, RMR can get back to the business at hand: building a competitive Unlimited Class racer to set a new record at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
When Hyundai announced that it would again back Rhys Millen’s efforts, it also said that a driver would be named, at a later date, to campaign last year’s record-setting RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe in the event.
Today, Hyundai announced that Pikes Peak veteran Paul Dallenbach, who’s got six class wins and three overall wins in the race, will fill that vacant seat. Dallenbach will run the RMR Genesis Coupe in the Time Attack 2WD Class, with an ultimate goal of besting Rhys Millen’s record-setting time of 9:46.164.
Millen will drive an all-new, purpose-built race car in the Unlimited Class. Starting with a production Hyundai Lambda V-6 engine, RMR speculates that the car’s output will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 900 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque. The Unlimited Class racer will also wear a Genesis Coupe-inspired body.
Of the pairing, Hyundai Motor America's vice president of marketing, Steve Shannon, said, "The combined experience of Millen and Dallenbach gives us an outstanding prospect to both defend our world record and generate impressive class wins." We couldn't agree more.
This year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 30.