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VW EV Sets Pikes Peak Record
Volkswagen AG set a new record in the annual race to the top of Pikes Peak on Sunday with a time of seven minutes and 57 seconds in a specially developed electric race car.
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Volkswagen AG set a new record in the annual race to the top of Pikes Peak on Sunday with a time of seven minutes and 57 seconds in a specially developed electric race car.
The vehicle, dubbed the I.D. R Pikes Peak, was piloted by French driver Romain Dumas at an average speed of nearly 91 mph. He beat the previous mark, set in 2013 by Sebastien Loeb in a Peugeot 208 race car, by 16 seconds.
The grueling 12.4-mile Rocky Mountains course features 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft on grades averaging 7.2%.
Powered by a pair of electric motors and large lithium-ion battery, VW’s I.D. R race car generates 680 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. The car can sprint from zero to 60 mph in 2.2 seconds and be fully recharged in less than 20 minutes.
VW says it developed and produced the 2,400-lb Pikes Peak model in eight months. The carmaker is developing several new production EVs, which will be sold under the I.D. sub-brand starting with a compact crossover vehicle in 2020.
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