Nobuhiro Tajima is no stranger to fans of hillclimbing or Gran Turismo. For the last quarter-century, the imposing Japanese businessman has been closely associated with the Pike’s Peak hillclimb, and rarely does a man as charismatic as “Monster” go unnoticed at the event. His huge hands and bulky physique are what catch the eye first, as he does not conform to the expected jockey frame whatsoever, but his voice also does a fair bit of convincing — or intimidation. Whichever way you prefer.

That booming baritone contrasts slightly with the muted whine emitted by his latest steed, powered by a newly-embraced means of propulsion in motorsports. This custom racer is fitted with four electric motors making just north of one megawatt, or 1,500 horsepower in old money. That group of motor, made by Croatian RIMAC, is deployed through their own torque-vectoring, four-wheel drive system that puts all the 1,100 lb-ft of torque to the road with startling effectiveness.

It’s stunning, long front-end combined with that eerie whine give the car a presence without a typical engine note.

Despite the obvious downside of increased vehicle weight — this particular car tips the scales at ~3,300 pounds — the Monster EV offers enough grip and torque to hit 60 mph in 2.2 seconds! Coupled with some considerable downforce — another avenue he’s been strolling since his Escudo machines graced the hillclimb in the ’90s — and this machine does offer some impressive cornering speeds, but compared to some of the other monsters which have graced the illustrious ‘Race to the Clouds,’ it does require the odd mid-corner lift. Weight will be an issue to be surmounted, but if the instantaneous torque isn’t appealing enough, the fact that this machine clocked the 2nd overall fastest time in 2015 should.