Its mission? To take the EV record in the race to the clouds.
The Pikes Peak hillclimb has been around for over a century now, with the Race to the Clouds considered one of the foremost places for carmakers and drivers to prove their mettle and test out whatever groundbreaking technology they might have on the shelf at the moment. Volkswagen knows the significance of Pikes Peak, so what better way to underscore its commitment to performance and driving fun than to drum up a special, one-of-one prototype car with the sole aim to dominate the race?
The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak is just that. With two electric motors, the I.D. R Pikes Peak can go from rest to 96km/h in just 2.25-seconds, thanks to its stratospheric 507kW and 650Nm. The I.D. R Pikes Peak also packs an impressive array of aerodynamic addenda that’ll no doubt help it stay glued to the road as it attempts to beat the current climb record for electric cars, which stands at 8-minutes 57.118-seconds.
“Volkswagen’s goal is to reach the pinnacle of electromobility with the I.D. family. The hillclimb on Pikes Peak will be a real acid test for the electric drive. Customers have always benefitted from the latest findings made in motorsports, and we expect to take these findings and use them as a valuable impetus for the development of future I.D. models.” — Dr. Frank Welsch, Member (Board of Management), Volkswagen
Like many electric cars, the I.D. R’s batteries are mounted in the floor, giving it a very low centre of gravity. They’re of an unknown capacity, but they were built at Volkswagen’s battery plant in Braunschweig, Germany. Range is not really a critical factor of the batteries, more so their peak output as the car climbs up the Colorado mountain. Volkswagen claims that some 20% of the energy that the car will use to climb the course will be generated through breaking as it makes that climb, though the car can also be charged in around 30mins via a fast charger.
The I.D. R Pikes Peak was launched at the Pole Mecanique racetrack in France, where the car will undergo a testing programme ahead of the hillclimb. As the climb course is otherwise a public road, testing on-site isn’t possible ahead of time, with official testing that does take place there only able to happen on a very short portion of the circuit.
With the Pikes Peak hillclimb event kicking off on the 24th of June, be sure to stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you more updates as they come.
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