Volkswagen I.D. R is a fully electric vehicle that has been breaking records all over the world. The car has been designed under project I.D. specifically for competing in motorsports.
The Volkswagen I.D. made its first début at the Pikes Peak International Hill climb in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Volkswagen I.D. R made history at Pikes Peak by breaking all time record previously set by Sébastien Loeb’s in 2013. Romain Dumas, the I.D R’s driver is now at top of Pikes Peak’s champions list with 7 minutes and 57.148 seconds. The car completed 19.99 kilometres with 156 corners and broke the record in first attempt.
Volkswagen has made an exceptional racing machine, customized for the demands of popular hill climbs. It is a very lightweight car with its unique body shape creating maximum down-force. The I.D. R weighs under 1,100 kg or 2,500 lbs and hits 0 to 60 mph in just 2.25 seconds. Its chassis was co-developed by Norma who is a French sports prototype and hill climb specialist. The Volkswagen I.D. R houses two electric motors, placed at each axle, enabling a combined 507 kilowatt, 680 horsepower and 479 pound feet of torque. When evaluating its performance, Volkswagen used simulation software to work out precisely how to accomplish the optimal energy output and performance for the record attempt on Pikes Peak.
An exceptional drive, with impressive scenery and the first record on Tianmen Mountain: Volkswagen has accomplished a major juncture with the ID.R in China – one that really helps move electric mobility to new heights. Romain Dumas finished the 99 tight corners on the Tianmen Mountain road in 7 minutes and 38.585 seconds, breaking all previous records.
The ID.R presently holds the records on Pikes Peak in North America, Goodwood Festival of Speed in UK, the electric lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Germany, and then the quickest time for a climb of Tianmen Mountain in China. The car has become the motorsport ambassador for the new electric range of vehicles from Volkswagen.
After its record breaking lap on the Nürburgring, Volkswagen revealed the details of I.D. R’s consumption. It used up just 24.7-kWh of battery juice during its trip, about 55% from its 45 kWh battery. The company revealed that this is equal to 25% of the energy a GT3-class race car takes to complete the 12.92 mile lap. They also pointed out that 9.2% of the energy came through brake regeneration during the record breaking lap. The previous record time was set by the Nio EP9 in 2017, this record was broken by I.D. R by full 40 seconds.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb record was broken after 20 years, and it occurred two times in the same weekend. I.D. R broke the record by completing the 1.15 miles track in 41.18 seconds in the south of England. It then broke its own record the next day by completing the lap in 39.90 seconds. The last record at the famed hill climb was set by Nick Heidfeld in 1999, who was driving a 780hp internal combustion engine McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13. His lap time was 41.6 seconds. To be fair to Heidfeld, the I.D. R was specifically designed for such hill climbs.
The track specific I.D. R’s rear wing is lower and shallower, which can develop huge down-force with less drag at the front. To reduce the drag even more, the I.D R’s wing can be flattened with a button, to gain a Formula 1 style Drag Reduction System (“DRS”). Though this method helps attaining the I.D. R’s 155 mph top speed on the Nürburgring’s longest straights, the DRS’ primary role isn’t to increase top speed, but efficiency at high speed.
Unlike most internal combustion powered cars, which are efficient in high gear, one-speed electric cars are comparatively inefficient at high speeds, drawing immense energy from their batteries, which can get hot during heavy use. Over-heated batteries results in degraded acceleration and weaker power output, and at worst, they can blow up into lithium fires which are hard to extinguish. So, DRS is equally a safety feature and a performance booster.
