Piloting a Volkswagen ID. R racecar, famous racing driver Romain Dumas has managed to set a new world record for all-electric cars at the dreaded North Loop of the Nürburgring Circuit in Germany. He has completed the extremely challenging lap in just 6 minutes 5.336 seconds. The previous winner vehicle – the NIO RP9 – ran the circuit in 6 min 45.9 s.
The original Volkswagen ID. R debuted at a special event in France in 2018. The all-electric car comes powered by two motors that deliver 680 hp (507 kW) along with 650 Nm (479 lb×ft) of torque to the wheels – an impressive spec sheet for a vehicle that weighs in at just 1,100 kilograms (2,425 lbs). With specs like these, sprinting from nothing to 100 km/h (62 mph) is a matter of 2.25 seconds.
This is not the first time the ID. R claims a new record, however. Once again piloted by Romain Dumas, the car won the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Race in Colorado, USA last summer.
Volkswagen AG has extensively updated the racecar for the award-winning Nürburgring race. Among other things, the engineer team optimized power consumption, installed a new rear wing, and implemented a drag reduction system (DRS) popular among F1 vehicles.
Photos: autocar.co.uk