After shattering the record at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, the Nurburgring and setting the third quickest at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Volkswagen is back with its all-electric 670bhp ID.R to shatter a very important record. A record previously set by Nick Heidfeld way back in 1999 aboard 769bhp, V10 powered McLaren Mercedes MP4/13 Formula 1 car. The ID.R is Volkswagen’s way of proving the power of electric mobility when it comes to breaking barriers and records set by super quick Internal combustion vehicles. It made its winning debut at the 2018 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Colorado. The aim was to safely set a blisteringly quick record for EV cars.
With French racing driver, Romain Dumas putting the 670 horses down onto the asphalt heading straight to the 14,000ft summit, VW managed to break Sebastien Loebs all-time record by a whole 16 seconds. They even broke the eight-minute barrier. Chinese built NIO EP9 was the only other electric to set a record. EP9’s best time of 8:57.118 to get to the Pikes Peak summit was still a minute slow compared to the ID.R. The Volkswagen ID.R currently holds the Pikes Peak all-time record, climbing to the Peak in 7:57.148 minutes.
“A change is taking place in the field of production vehicles and in motorsport. Electric cars are becoming increasingly more powerful and have long since reached the same level as cars with combustion engines in many areas,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. “In Goodwood, we want to show that the electric drivetrain in the ID.R can mix it with Formula 1. However, whether or not Romain Dumas can successfully challenge Nick Heidfeld’s track record also depends on the conditions at the weekend.”
Volkswagen then set its eyes on a Goodwood record. The electric racecar was able to get around Goodwood in a record time of 43.05, which is the third quickest time overall on the Goodword time chart right behind Graeme Wight, Jr’s 42.90 seconds run piloting a Gould GR51 back in 2003. VW didn’t hold back even at the challenging Nurburgring, setting the fastest lap time for EV’s with the quick ID.R. The 680ps electric racecar with Dumas behind the wheel was able to lap the 20.8km track in a record time of 6:05.336. Interestingly Dumas was only 86 seconds off Timo Bernhard’s record in a Modified LeMan spec Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO.
Its been around 20 years since the all-time record at Goodwood has not been tampered with. Volkswagen decided to aim for that deficit, and are now ready with the ID.R for another record-shattering run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The ID.R will be lightened and redeveloped to take on the hillclimb. The goal? To break Nick Heidfeld’s record that he set back in 1999, which was aboard a 780ps McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13. This is Volkswagen’s second attempt at the Goodwood, this time aiming at an F1 record.
“It is difficult to judge correctly how much grip the track will provide. That changes all the time over the course of the weekend,” says driver Romain Dumas. Volkswagen partner Bridgestone is supplying the ID.R with particularly soft, and therefore extremely grippy, race tyres for the sprint up the 1.86-kilometre route. The tyre manufacturer’s technicians are familiar with the challenges faced at the “Festival of Speed” – Nick Heidfeld set his all-time record on Bridgestone tyres back in 1999.