Volkswagen ID. R Returning To Goodwood To Set New Record

Volkswagen will return to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed with the ID. R fresh after it set an electric vehicle record at the Nurburgring.

The ID. R made its motorsport debut at last year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and set a new outright record of 7 minutes and 57 seconds.

Just three weeks later, the car was brought to Goodwood and set a blistering time of 43.86 seconds, the fastest time recorded in 15 years. This year, it will come again – and it aims even higher.

“Last year, we lined up in Goodwood just three weeks after the record-breaking run on Pikes Peak and used the same technical configuration as we did at the hill climb. This year, we will field an ID.R that has been prepared specifically for Goodwood,” Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets said.

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

The technical director of Volkswagen Motorsport, Francois-Xavier Demaison, revealed that the car manufacturer has developed a sprint version of the ID. R with smaller batteries to reduce weight. “We have also opted for a far more aggressive energy management strategy for the short distance. You need very high output for a very short time for the sprint in Goodwood,” he added.

The fastest ever time up the Goodwood hillclimb was set in 1999 by Nick Heidfeld who drove a McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 car and stopped the clocks at an incredible 41.6 seconds.