Image: A competitor nears the top of Pikes Peak in 2025
Historic racer Jim Morris will compete in the 104th running of the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, USA, on 21 June 2026, after receiving an invitation to the iconic event in early February this year.
Staying true to his family’s Volkswagen roots, Morris has spent the past four years designing and building the ultimate Volkswagen Golf to tackle the legendary 12.42-mile course. Featuring 156 corners and climbing to an altitude of more than 14,000 feet, Pikes Peak is one of the most demanding motorsport challenges in the world. Morris’s target is to break the current front-wheel-drive record of 10 minutes 48 seconds, which has stood since 2018.
“Having read about the mystique of Pikes Peak in Autosport magazine since I was a child, it has always been my ambition to compete,” said Morris. “Just over four years ago I embarked on this project with a clear goal — to build a car capable of breaking the front-wheel-drive record.”
The car has been designed and built by Morris’s own preparation and restoration business, GTS Motorsport, based in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. It showcases the engineering expertise and in-house products of Morris’s motorsport companies, including Coventry-based Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems and Old Hall Performance Ltd and Trident Racing Supplies based at Silverstone.
Commenting on the build, Morris added: “Many elements of the car have been designed, manufactured and supplied in-house. That’s a true testament to the skill and dedication of the talented teams across all our businesses.”
Drawing on Morris’s extensive global motorsport network, the project is supported by Alcon Brakes, Racetech Seats, Swindon Powertrain, Xtrac Transmissions, ATL Fuel Cells, MCS Suspension, Competition Supplies, Willie Poole Motorsport, VP Racing Fuels and Red Line Synthetic Oil. The car’s aerodynamic package has been designed by renowned aerodynamicist John Iley.
Producing over 500 bhp, the Volkswagen Golf will begin an extensive testing programme in mid-February before being shipped to Colorado in early April. Further testing will then take place on the mountain itself, ahead of the legendary ‘Race to the Clouds’ in June.
About Pikes Peak International Hillclimb
Over the 100+ year history of this event, auto racing legends have pitted themselves and their machines against the mountain. American racing families from across the country have championed the course – names like Unser, Mears, Pastrana, Zwart, Vahsholtz and hundreds of others. International competitors have also etched their mark on Pikes Peak including Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima, Ari Vatanen, Walter Rohrl, Michele Mouton, Rod and Rhys Millen, Sebastien Loeb and most recently Romain Dumas who set a new course record in 2018 of 7:57.148.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest motorsports race in America and a long-standing tradition in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region. The race is run on a 12.42 mile (and now fully paved) course with 156 turns that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes at the 14,115-foot summit of America’s Mountain.
About Jim Morris
57-year-old Midlands-based businessman and historic racer Jim Morris is the founder and Managing Director of Coventry-based Lifeline Fire & Safety Systems Ltd, the world leading supplier of motorsport and defence safety equipment. He is also behind several respected motorsport businesses, including Old Hall Performance (Coventry), Trident Racing Supplies (Silverstone), and GTS Motorsport (Stoneleigh, Warwickshire).
Born into a motorsport family, Jim’s passion for racing began early. His father, John Morris, competed in the British Saloon Car Championship during the 1980s with Volkswagen UK support. Continuing the family tradition, Jim began karting at 15 before progressing to Production Saloons, Formula Ford 1600, and historic sports cars.
Today, he competes regularly in prestigious international historic events, campaigning the very same Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI that his father raced to success in the early 1980s. After locating the original car in Spain in 2011, Jim brought it back to the UK and oversaw its full restoration.
Since returning the iconic Golf to competition, Jim has secured numerous class and outright victories at some of Europe’s most celebrated circuits, including Silverstone, Goodwood, Donington Park, Spa-Francorchamps, and the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
