Automotive

Volkswagen takes its Pikes Peak-conquering electric racer to Goodwood

Volkswagen takes its Pikes Peak-conquering electric racer to Goodwood
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
View 6 Images
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
1/6
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
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
2/6
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
Spectators watch on as Volkswagen's electric race car conquers Pikes Peak
3/6
Spectators watch on as Volkswagen's electric race car conquers Pikes Peak
Volkswagen's electric race car conquers Pikes Peak
4/6
Volkswagen's electric race car conquers Pikes Peak
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
5/6
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
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
6/6
Volkswagen built the I.D R Pikes Peak all-electric racer specifically to conquer the race off the same name
View gallery - 6 images

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.

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
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 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

Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak – record run, helicopter footage

View gallery - 6 images
4 comments
4 comments
b@man
That exaggerated rear wing lifts the front of the car:)
D Hanson
A better driver will definitely improve upon the car's lap time.
Roger Aikins
Amazing video
usugo
They should rather go for the Nordschleife, trying to beat the fresh new lap record set by Porsche