The Volkswagen I.D. R electric makes history at the Pikes Peak hill climb

Romain Dumas’ stratospheric time with the Volkswagen I.D. R electric car at the Pikes Peak hill climb, breaking every record in the event.

Romain Dumas, at the wheel of the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, has managed to make history at the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb with a fully electric car, smashing the existing record held by Sébastien Loeb with a combustion-engined race car by no less than 16 seconds.

The new time set by Romain Dumas with the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak is 7m 57.148s. That is almost a minute faster than the previous record for an electric-powered car! Furthermore, Romain Dumas has, for the first time in the event’s history, broken the 8-minute barrier. And this despite the road conditions up to the summit of Pikes Peak not being the best, with some sections of damp asphalt and fog.

We don’t know whether Volkswagen was really aware of the potential of the electric racer they built in just eight months, with the goal of breaking the record in its category. But this race car, weighing less than 1,100 kg, with two electric motors delivering a combined output of 680 CV, enabling the I.D. R Pikes Peak to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.25 seconds, has defied all predictions. Undoubtedly, the prior simulations to calculate exactly the balance between energy demand and performance, as well as the wind tunnel studies to optimise aerodynamics, were key.

Romain Dumas has broken the absolute record for the Pikes Peak hill climb with the electric VW I.D. R, beating Sébastien Loeb’s previous record by 16 seconds

The French driver himself, Romain Dumas, could hardly believe it at the finish: “We have exceeded every expectation with this result. I still can’t believe it, the I.D. R Pikes Peak is the most impressive car I have ever raced. An electric car is completely different, and I had to learn a lot during the project.” Among the other “partners” for this adventure, Volkswagen worked with ANSYS (simulation software), Michelin (tyre supplier), Integral e-drive and OMP.