Volkswagen electric racer smashes Pikes Peak record

Volkswagen’s ID R electric race car has set a new record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado.

Driver Romain Dumas has beaten World Rally Championship legend Sebastian Loeb’s record set back in 2013 by 16 seconds in the “race to the clouds”.

Dumas, 40, set the record time of 7 minutes 57.148 seconds, against Loeb’s 8 minutes 13.878 seconds, despite the threat of fog to ruin the day’s running.

The VW ID R electric race car has set an outright record for categories, despite never having a complete practice run to the top during the weekend and waiting 45 minutes to start his assault on the timesheets.

The Pikes Peak finish line sits on the summit at 4302 metres above sea level after 156 turns which have proven fatal to numerous drivers.

Typically, internal combustion race cars have to be tuned for a desired fuel-air mix ratio due to the drastic change in altitude and lack of oxygen the higher the car goes.

Electric race cars such as the Teslas raced by Go Puck founder Blake Fuller, and the VW ID R, do not require oxygen to power the vehicle.

Drivers commonly use tanks of on-board oxygen to help them breathe.

Dumas says the VW EV could’ve gone quicker if the track was drier.

“We could have gone quicker if that middle sector had been dry,” he says at the finish. “It was quite humid with some damp in the second section.

“We have worked six years for this race.”

The ID R will go from 0-100km/h in 2.25 seconds – faster than a modern Formula One car.

VW technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison says the car “had some technical issues, things like how we were managing the battery, we learned a lot in the last few days.”
This year marks the 102nd hill climb.