The Tacoma Pikes Peak Story: Toyota’s Wildest Experiment

The Toyota Tacoma Pikes Peak Special wasn’t really a truck. It only wore Tacoma panels.
Underneath? A mid-engine, 1,000-horsepower, all-wheel-drive monster built purely to conquer the most dangerous race in America: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

With Rod Millen behind the wheel, this Frankenstein Tacoma blasted up the mountain in 10 minutes and 11 seconds — faster than cars nobody thought a “pickup” could ever beat.

Built in the late 1990s, it featured:
A 2.1L turbocharged 4-cylinder derived from Toyota’s IMSA program.
A lightweight carbon body on a tube-frame chassis.
All-wheel drive for unmatched grip.
Around 1,950 lbs curb weight — lighter than any modern sports car.

It was wild. It was reckless. And it was one of the most daring cars Toyota has ever built.

Today, the Tacoma Pikes Peak Special is almost forgotten. But for car culture, it’s proof that Toyota once built machines that made no sense — except to show what was possible.

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📌 Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Origins
1:30 The Engineering Madness Under the Skin
2:30 Rod Millen’s Record Run
3:10 Legacy and Cultural Impact
3:43 Closing

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