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VW's electric Pikes Peak racer is now the champion at Goodwood, too
VW made good on its promise to conquer Goodwood's Hillclimb with its pure electric race car soon after tackling Pikes Peak. The I.D. R Pikes Peak was the fastest vehicle to take on the legendary ascent at the Festival of Speed, finishing the climb in a brisk 43.86 seconds -- as you'll see in the video below, driver Romain Dumas outpaces the competition almost immediately. It's the first electric car to win the Festival's shootout, and certainly the fastest EV in the competition. Second place was also an EV -- Nio's EP9 was slightly slower at 44.32 seconds.
VW eyes Goodwood record with its I.D. R Pikes Peak electric racer
Hardly content with shattering the all-time record at Pikes Peak, Volkswagen wants its I.D. R Pikes Peak electric race car to be the one to beat on other tracks. It's taking the racer to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the south of England this week, with designs on setting not only the electric car record at the Goodwood Hillclimb, but perhaps the overall benchmark too.
Watch VW's electric racer destroy the Pikes Peak record
When VW smashed Pikes Peak's all-time record with an electric car, there was one lingering question for those who couldn't see it live: where's the footage? You've got it now. VW has posted uninterrupted aerial footage of its I.D. R Pikes Peak racer's 7-minute 57-second hill climb, and the pace is as relentless as you'd expect -- the helicopter can barely keep tabs on the EV as it makes short work of undulating turns. Moreover, it's a good primer on why electric cars are well-suited to Pikes Peak.
VW's electric Pikes Peak racer accelerates faster than an F1 car
After months of promises and teases, VW has formally unveiled its electric Pikes Peak race car... and its performance might be surprising even in light of earlier hype. The I.D. R Pikes Peak is built to smash Pikes Peak's EV record of 8 minutes and 57 seconds not through brute force, but by achieving a finely tuned power-to-weight ratio. While the 680HP two-motor powerplant may not sound like much when the existing record holder (Drive eO's PP100) packed a whopping 1,596HP, VW's vehicle will weigh under 2,500lbs versus 2,646lbs for its archrival.
VW unveils electric race car built to tackle Pikes Peak
Volkswagen is delivering on its promise of an electric car powerful enough to conquer the Pikes Peak hill climb. It has formally unveiled the I.D. R Pikes Peak, and the design is very clearly tailor-made for the job -- it looks more like a Le Mans machine than the relatively pedestrian I.D. models you've seen before. The company still isn't offering specs beyond four wheel drive. However, it's still determined to break the existing Pikes Peak electric vehicle record of 8 minutes and 57 seconds, which suggests it will have a monstrous amount of power. The current holder, a Drive eO PP100 driven by Rhys Millen, mustered 1,596HP.
