straßenversion announces its sponsorship of the Palatov D4 Pikes Peak

straßenversion is proud to announce our first sponsorship deal with Palatov Motorsport. Palatov will bring their D4 Turbo to Pikes Peak this summer to take the fight to the big names at Pikes Peak in the UNLIMITED CLASS. We are tremendously excited to be a part of it and can't wait to see Palatov take on the challenge in their innovative and extreme machine. 

This year the hill climb will be 100% paved for the first time since its inception in 1916. While it is sad to see the loss of the dirt sections and the spectacular challenges that brought, the new Pikes Peak presents opportunities for Le Mans style prototypes and a variety of historic cars to make the climb. The Palatov D4 is perfectly suited to the new format and should have a very competitive package even against the 1000 horsepower monsters that have traditionally dominated here.

“In reviewing the nature of the race, which will be fully paved in 2012, we realized that our cars would have a great advantage over existing designs”, said Dennis Palatov, owner and designer. “The key unique feature of the car is the unprecedented combination of extremely light weight, AWD, high power, ultra-compact size, and advanced ground- effects aerodynamics.” This event was selected by Palatov Motorsport because it is perhaps the only major international race where the overall win and record is potentially accessible to a newcomer on a modest budget. In contrast to most highly-regulated race series, Pikes Peak is a once-a-year-event where the Unlimited class places no restrictions on technical innovation and provides a perfect venue to test radical new approaches to racecar design.

Palatov Motorsport will be fielding an evolution of the D4 track car, which currently is the most developed and tested of the Palatov vehicles. For the Pikes Peak effort the D4 will use a lightweight small-displacement engine turbocharged to 300+hp. The Palatov designs are based on the concept of placing a lightweight drivetrain next to the driver, creating a very compact package that gives extreme mass centralization and perfect balance. This layout lends itself very efficiently to AWD with minimal weight penalty. At high power to weight ratios, AWD is essential to making full use of the engine's potential. David Donner, 3-time overall winner of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, will drive the new Palatov D4 Turbo in the Unlimited class in this year's event slated for July 8, 2012. Donner's background on Pike's Peak includes 3 overall wins, numerous qualifying records and top three race finishes. He also has an extensive background in road racing including the 24 Hours of  Daytona, Petite Le Mans among many other racing series. We would like to thank all of our supporters and customers for making this possible. We are thrilled to enter this arena and hope to be a part of many exciting sporting ventures in the future. Here's to a 2012 filled with success for glory for straßenversion and Palatov Motorsports. Our branding will appear on the car in April when they begin testing their Pikes Peak special and of course on the car at the climb in July. We will be at the race in July to provide great content for the blog and to support Palatov Motorsports in their quest to conquer the peak. for more information visit: http://www.palatov.com and watch this space for updates.