Eight Favorite Pikes Peak Racers from the Penrose Heritage Museum
A group of Pikes Peak heroes and their warhorses.
You might not know it, but the International Pikes Peak Hill Climb (PPIHC) is one of the most historically rich motorsports events in American history. Since the inaugural race in 1916, the hill climb has been held an incredible 97 times, only pausing for both World Wars. As you might expect, there's quite a bit of memorabilia and historical race cars floating around, so while I was in Colorado Spring for this year's race, it only made sense for us to stop by the Penrose Heritage Museum, where a large portion of former competition cars, documents, trophies, and race paraphernalia is on display. Check out our eight favorite cars we found below.
1918 Pierce-Arrow Broadmoor Special
It all starts with Spencer Penrose, an industrialist and entrepreneur who, among other things, founded The Broadmoor hotel and built the Pikes Peak Highway to the summit. He also established the PPIHC as we know it today, inviting competitors from around the nation to see who could crest the unpaved highway in the lowest time.
In 1922, Penrose dropped his personal Pierce-Arrow touring car to his mechanics for conversion into a stripped-out, bare-bones Pikes Peak racer. The result was this bright yellow roadster that finished every hill climb it entered. However, the affectionately named "Yellow Devil" was more exhibitory than true competitor, as it never bested a fourth-place finish in its eight race attempts.
1922 Ford Model T Special
This diminutive white Ford Model T was the catalysts for one of the biggest upsets in PPIHC history. As the story goes, Noel Bullock built this from a conglomerate of parts and drove 250 miles to Colorado Springs for the 1922 running of the race. A dirt oval racer by trade, Bullock manhandled the Model T up the highway at an average speed of 38 miles per hour, beating out the much larger, more powerful crowd of Packards, Mercers, and Chevrolets.
