Electric hill-climb racer will accelerate faster than an F1 car, says manufacturer.
Volkswagen has revealed that its bespoke race car developed for this year’s Pikes Peak hill-climb in June will produce enough power and torque to reach 100km/h from a standing start in just 2.25 seconds – a time that would shame an F1 car.
The electric vehicle, labelled the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, weighs less than 1100kg, says Volkswagen, but its 500kW and 650Nm output places it literally near the very summit of automotive performance.
Volkswagen has built the vehicle to set a new record for electrically-powered vehicles at the world-famous hill-climb, the ‘Race to the Clouds’. Currently, the record for an electric vehicle in this event is 8:57.118 over the 20km route.
The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak is driven by two electric motors, which draw power from a lithium-ion battery pack. Volkswagen claims the race car will recover 20 per cent of the energy it needs for the run from braking.
“Volkswagen’s goal is to reach the pinnacle of electromobility with the I.D. family. As such, Volkswagen’s involvement on Pikes Peak not only sets the trend for our future in motorsport, but is also of great symbolic significance in the truest sense,” said Volkswagen Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Development, Dr Frank Welsch.
“Customers have always benefited from the findings made in motorsport, and we expect to take these findings and use them as a valuable impetus for the development of future I.D. models. The hill climb on Pikes Peak will definitely be a real acid test for the electric drive.”
Taking the helm of the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak will be Romain Dumas, who has won Pikes Peak three times and is the defending champion. The 39-year-old Frenchman will pilot the car through the competition course, which comprises 156 corners and only begins 2862 metres above sea level and tops out at 4302 metres.
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