VW ID.R Smashes Goodwood Hillclimb Record By 1.7 Seconds

Volkswagen has smashed the outright record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the ID.R racer.

Heading in to this year’s event, the fastest time ever recorded up the hillclimb was a 41.6-second time set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 Formula 1 car back in 1999. The ID.R set a phenomenal time of 39.90-seconds, beating out Heidfeld by a cool 1.7-seconds, a significant margin over such a short sprint.

Behind the wheel of the record-breaking ID.R was Romain Dumas who drove the car at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and around the Nurburgring last month in a record-setting 6:05.336 for an electric vehicle.

Also Watch: VW ID.R’s Nurburgring Record-Setting Lap Immortalized In Glorious Video

Volkswagen comprehensively modified the ID.R in preparation for Goodwood this year. The car was outfitted with a smaller battery than it was when used at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and Nurburgring, meaning it weighed less than 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), including the driver.

What’s even more impressive is that it (unofficially) first broke Heidfeld’s record earlier in the weekend with a 41.1-second time during qualifying for the shootout.

“In setting the new all-time record at the ‘Goodwood Festival of Speed’, the ID.R has once again shown that Volkswagen’s electric powertrain can outperform even the most powerful conventional powertrains,” Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets said. “Romain Dumas exploited the full potential of the ID.R on this short but tricky track. After the victory on Pikes Peak and the e-record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, he has now achieved another milestone for electromobility. It was a strong performance from our whole team, which only had a very short time, in which to get a lightweight variant of the ID.R up and running for the ‘Festival of Speed’.”

VW isn’t done with the ID.R yet, though. Later this year, it will race up Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road in China, a treacherous ribbon of pavement with 99 corners and huge cliffs.