Meet Mistress, the new race car from Gigglepin Racing. Grab a coffee, a beer or just sit down and discover all the secrets of Jim Marsden's new love built around a Miller Motorsports chassis and with a high-performance 625 horsepower LS7 V8.

Action photograpy Paolo Baraldi, Tech photography Nicolas Stevenin, Story Paolo Baraldi

The Englishman Jim Marsden certainly needs no introduction!

Jim started racing in 2000 growing with each race. He is currently the most successful offroad driver in Europe with over 70 international podiums and over 30 titles to his name ranging from Ultra4 Europe races to Rallye Breslau and much more. When he is not racing Jim is involved in various motorsport shows and events with the role as ambassador for the brands that support him and his team. Marsden is also one of the official speakers of the largest and toughest one-day offroad race in the world: the King of the Hammers in California as well as the Ultra 4 National Finals in Reno, Nevada and other major events such as the MINT400 in Las Vegas. Off road is Jim Marsden's life; he is the founder and owner of Gigglepin 4x4 and Gigglepin Winches. Jim draws on his life experiences to work with his team to develop market leading innovative designs such as the GP100 winch.

Recently, after bringing Little Lady and Bad Penny to success, Jim Marsden has a new car and it is this new vehicle that I present to you today.

This vehicle is called Mistress and replaces the noble Bad Penny which boasts an impressive curriculum. We will have to wait a little more time to find out if Mistress will get the same results as Jim's previous rig, but, knowing the driver and his performance, it seems obvious that we will find the "two" on many podiums… obviously when the tests will be finished and Mistress will be reliable.

Jim Marsden knows Erik Miller very well (winner of the King of the Hammers in 2012 and 2016 – first in the US Ultra4 championship in 2018 and 2020). “In Ultra4 it's the best car in the world and the most technologically advanced” is what Jim thinks of Eirk Miller's car and why he decided that this Miller Pro chassis would be the basis for his new future car.

The development of the Ultra 4 cars in recent years has been based mainly on IFS (Independent Front Suspension) designs, and many KOH winners in the last years are IFS. But there are still plenty of hard-axle fans like Erik Miller, Randy Slawson and Marsden himself. It was precisely the reliability and less maintenance that pushed Marsden towards this decision. 

This Miller Pro chassis can be purchased as a kit, which Jim did. It will then be "sufficient" to weld it. Jim gave this task to Black Bird Industries. In addition to the kit, it is also possible to find a whole series of accessories, such as sheet metal, engine and gearbox mounts, tie rods, underbody and side shields and a whole series of parts that allow you to have an advanced kit for those who want to do everything alone.

Jim then added his own like to the steering column (note, this is the only right hand drive Miller Motorsports chassis in the world), the use of a 4LT80 E gearbox instead of the more used TH400 (as Erik) and other details such as the Spidertrax Pro Series 4″ axles.

Marsden fitted in front a 7.0L V8 LS7 engine developing 625hp (can be pushed up to 700hp or a little more but as Jim says: it's not necessary). The engine is managed by a Holley ECU. In fact, the latter manages the engine/dashboard/gearbox unit. With this system there are no more fuses, no more relays, everything is managed electronically and you can even set up and program various maps.

The radiator is fixed behind the cab.

Combined with the LS7 we find a 4-speed 4LT80 E gearbox and a latest generation Atlas II transfer by Advance Adapters.

The axles, as mentioned, are the robust Spidertrax 4″. The ball joints used are from FK Rod Ends. The wheels can turn at an angle of 53° which is huge! The drive shafts are 40 splines in front and 45 splines in back. The steering system comes from D&G Tuning.

The front diff is by TubeWorks with an automatic Detroit Locker and the rear is by GearWorks with an ARB diff lock.

As for the suspension, we will find FOX coilovers and bypasses. At the front the bypass is 2.5 inches and the coilover is 2 inches, at the rear it's even bigger at 3.5 inches. It's the same setup as Erik Miller, the bypasses are full factory, it's custom made with bigger tubes and a specific valve.

Raceline rims and Maxxis tires.

Gigglepin GP100 winch.

The cabin and the dashboard.

Mitress's potential is impressive and seeing her in competitions such as Rallye Breslau is a pleasure; there is no doubt that Jim will be back in strength in the next few races to demonstrate the full value of this vehicle.