Larry Chen goes behind the scenes with the motorsport legend as he plans to participate in the 100th running of this extreme hill climb.

Rodney K. “Rod” Millen is a motorsport legend with multiple wins at the vaunted Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Now 71 years of age, Rod might be too old for such stuff. But the legend isn’t letting age dictate his will as he plans to participate in this year’s edition of the hill climb with his trusted Pennzoil Pikes Peak Toyota Tacoma. Larry Chen managed to get behind the scenes with Rod and the equally legendary Tacoma.

This year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is quite special as it’s the 100th running of what many consider to be one of the world’s most extreme hill climbs. Rod seems super-excited with the prospect of returning to the globally famous event, as he won five editions of them in the 1990s. Some drivers found it difficult to grab even a class win, but Rod secured five overall victories at Pikes Peak.

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Rod grabbed his first win in 1994 driving a Toyota Celica Super Sport Turbo to 10 minutes and 4.060 seconds, setting a new Pikes Peak record. He then secured four straight overall wins from 1996 to 1999. The 1996 win came behind the wheels of a 1995 Toyota, while the 1997 victory was in a Toyota Celica. Rod won the 1998 and 1999 editions of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in a Toyota Tacoma race truck.

Rod will again get behind the wheels of his beloved Toyota Tacoma race truck. Interestingly, Rod's Tacoma is a silhouette racer that vaguely looks like the real thing, except for some sections and is a different monster underneath. Larry had a chance to take a closer look at the inner mechanicals of the Tacoma race truck, which Rod took out for the first time in many years.

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Covering all the good stuff underneath is a carbon fiber body, which is light enough for Larry and Rod to lift and carry to another place. The carbon fiber body sits on a tubular frame with a mid-mounted engine. The Tacoma also features massive NACA ducts, a huge rear wing and underbody venturi tunnels helping generate ground-effect downforce.

Also key to Rod’s return to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a 2.1-liter 503E four-cylinder race engine that delivers around 1,000 hp of output. Rod plans to retain the previous setup for his upcoming run, including the insane suspension system.

Source: Larry Chen on YouTube

Julybien Atadero writes from the island of Cebu covering various automotive topics including new sports cars, classic muscles, pickup trucks and SUVs. While I like peace and quiet, I love playing with my kid. When I have nothing else to do, I watch documentaries and animations.