BMW let its production-issue i4 EV climb to the legendary Heaven’s Gate at the top of the snake-like Tianmen Mountain road in China. The Volkswagen ID.R was the only other electric vehicle to have attempted the same feat so far, but it was a one-off prototype racecar and not a mass-market car.
The road, which is best known in the world as 99 Turns or 99 Bends, is 10.77 kilometers (6.7 miles) long and rises by 1,100 meters (3,607 meters) from start to finish.
The German automaker sent a single-motor BMW i4 eDrive40 liftback to the race. The car debuted last summer with 340 PS (335 hp / 250 kW) and 430 Nm (317 lb-ft) of torque at its disposal. It needs 5.7 seconds to sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph), but accomplishing the same on a serpentine mountain road is borderline impossible.
As you have probably noticed, the video lacks the background noise of a struggling gasoline engine. Tire rustle occasionally becomes the only audible sound you can hear as the battery car climbs the trail, drifting at corners.
The manufacturer never specified how fast the i4 was to the top. The Volkswagen ID.R set a record in the fall of 2019 by climbing the entire road in 7 minutes 38 seconds. It was piloted by Romain Dumas, who did not resort to drifting.