For the first time in the last 30 years, the German car maker Volkswagen AG takes its vehicle to the Race to the Clouds – an annual hill-climb racing competition held on the Pikes Peak Mountain in Colorado, USA. This time around, the company sets its stakes on the full-electric prototype vehicle named the I.D. R. Concept.
Volkswagen last participated in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987. Its dual-engine, 600-horsepower / 450-kilowatt VW Golf performed quite well in the beginning, but ultimately broke down and could not proceed with the race.
The VW I.D. R. Concept will be piloted by French racing driver Romain Dumas for the race, who will not just try to cross the finish line but actually attempt to set a new world record in the all-electric car category. To do so, he will need to conclude the race in less than 8 minutes 57 seconds.
In an earlier story, we told you that Volkswagen has been designing from scratch and conducting wind-tunnel tests of the aerodynamic package for the I.D. R. Concept. It looks like the team really does its best to score the victory at the Pikes Peak.
The conceptual vehicle debuted a while ago with a space-frame carbon chassis borrowed from the Norma Concept. All of its body kit parts and panels are also made of carbon. Powered by two electric engines jointly capable of 680 hp / 507 kW, the vehicle accelerates past 100 km/h in no longer than 2.2 seconds.
Photo: motor1.com