The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak racer has (unsurprisingly) set a new electric car record up the hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Leading into this weekend’s event, the fastest EV to run up Lord March’s driveway was the Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV piloted by Jonny Cocker up the hillclimb in 2013 in a brisk 47.34 seconds.
Fresh off his triumph behind the wheel of the I.D. R at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Romain Dumas set a blistering time of 43.05 seconds. Remarkably, this time was set during practice for the final shootout set to be held on the final afternoon of the event.
If Dumas wants to set an outright record, he’ll have to beat the incredible time of 41.6 seconds set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 car back in 1999. Doing so will be exceptionally difficult but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.
Once you learn of the I.D. R’s specs and see its crazy aerodynamics in person, it’s really no surprise that it is as fast as it is.
Powering the car are a pair of electric motors pumping out 680 hp and 480 lb-ft and funneling grunt through the rear wheels. The car can reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.25 seconds and, even more impressively, go around corners at a truly frightening pace because of its immense levels of downforce.
At Goodwood, the Nio EP9 running on slicks also set a new street-legal record for the event with a time of 44.61 seconds.