MITSUBISHI MOTORS competed in the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the final year of their three-year plan, with two further advanced MiEV EVOLUTION III vehicles. The drivers were Hiroshi Masuoka (also the team manager), who won second place in the electric vehicle class of this competition for two consecutive years, and Greg Tracy (USA), who had an extensive experience in Pikes Peak on two wheels and who finished third in his first four wheel race the previous year. Their vehicles continued to evolve every year since they started competing. Their motors and batteries, based on mass-produced parts, initially had 3 motors and 240 kW in 2012. In 2013, it was powered up to 4 motors delivering 400kW, and, in 2014, the output of the 4 motors was brought to 450kW. In addition, thanks to the data collected so far, it was refined to increase its steering stability by incorporating aerodynamics appendices and a four-wheel control technology suitable for improving its performance.

On the first practice day, they tackled the upper section of the approximately 20km course that was divided into three parts, and they recorded a first and second fastest time in the modified electric car class. Tackling the middle section on day two and the bottom section on day three, they kept their first and second place, a perfect result ahead of the race proper on the 29th. The race day was sunny. Tracy and Masuoka fought furiously to wipe away their regrets from the previous year, when their hopes were dashed by the rain. Pike Peaks’ 4,301 meters high summit was higher than that of Mt. Fuji, so the air was thinner. In those conditions, internal combustion engine-equipped cars’ power decreases, but electric vehicles are not affected. On slippery roads, the integrated vehicle dynamics control system S-AWC prevented the machine from sliding and it brought a feeling of security to the driver who was on the attack. Tracy topped the rankings in the modified electric car class with a time of 9 minutes 08.188 seconds, significantly bettering his own record of the previous year. Masuoka achieved a time of 9 minutes 12.204 seconds taking second place. Throughout the practice runs up to the race proper, it was a perfect result for MiEV EVOLUTION III with a first and second place finish. Tracy's record was close to 2.5 seconds behind the overall winner of the gasoline car class, demonstrating the potential of electric cars.

MITSUBISHI MOTORS competed in Pikes Peak for three years with their electric vehicles, and they were able to learn highly advanced technology as they developed their state-of-the-art racing machines. The team was also responsible for the advanced development of “e-EVOLUTION,” which combined motor drives and S-AWC. They brought in engineers from MITSUBISHI MOTORS development headquarters to be their technical director and mechanics, who are the key members of the team. It could be said that Pikes Peak played a significant role in the technical development of their electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.