After obliterating the competition and smashing the all-time record for Pikes Peak last month, Volkswagen is turning its electric vehicle ambitions to another iconic event on the motoring calendar. The automaker has announced it will be taking its I.D. R Pikes Peak race car to the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, with another record sitting firmly in the crosshairs.
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race of the same name. With 30 years having passed since it last entered the event, the company made its return with a 680-hp (507-kW) low-profile racer that went on to break the eight-minute barrier for the first time ever, posting a new record of 7:57.148.
The team is now shifting focus to another annual hillclimb, albeit a much shorter one. In tackling the 1.86-km (1.1-mi) Goodwood Hill Climb in England, the company is setting out to break the record for electric cars of 47.34 seconds set by Jonny Cocker in a Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV in 2013. However, it will likely still fall short of the all-time record of 41.6 seconds set by F1 driver Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 in 1999.
Preparations for the race are now underway, with the car shipped immediately back to Europe after Pikes Peak as the team makes the necessary tweaks ahead of its next outing.
If you'd like to see the car in action, the video below shows its record-setting run up Pikes Peak in its entirety.
Source: Volkswagen
