The VW Team has long toiled on the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R racecar to adequately prepare it for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Race. Days and nights the engineers have been testing its all-new body kit in the wind tunnels and finding new parts to throw out to make it as light as possible. The famous French racing driver Romain Dumas has also been training and otherwise preparing for the event. We can now say their efforts were not in vain, after all.
Dumas has not only managed to set a new record in the Pikes Peak’s EV category, but also a new absolute best time in the history of the race. This is the first Pikes Peak victory not scored by a gasoline-powered car.
The mighty Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak comes equipped with several electric motors capable of 680 hp / 507 kW in total, an extensive body kit and 4WD. Its weight doesn’t exceed 1,100 kilograms or 2,425 pounds, the driver included. Its battery set is distributed evenly on the left and the right sides of the cockpit and benefits from regenerative braking.
Those willing to participate in the Race to the Clouds are now going to assume 7:57,148 as the new benchmark. The previous high score for the track spanning 20 kilometers (12.42 mi) and having 156 curves was slightly above 8:57.
This is not the only triumph Volkswagen celebrated when the race ended. Piloting a Bentley Bentayga, Rhys Millen has beaten the record in the SUV category by finishing the track in 10 minutes 49.9 seconds – almost two minutes under the previous best result. Interestingly, the car entered the race driven by the unmodded stock 6.0-liter W12 engine capable of 608 hp / 453 kW. The Bentley racing team only had to install better tires and exhaust system, get rid of the noise proofing and most of the equipment, and add a roll cage and an automatic fire extinguisher.
Photo: autosport.pt