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VW to Field EV in Pikes Peak Climb
Volkswagen AG has developed a prototype electric race car that it will run at the annual Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado this summer.
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Volkswagen AG has developed a prototype electric race car that it will run at the annual Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado this summer.
The record for an EV run up the grueling 12.4-mile route is just under nine minutes. Race car driver Rhys Millen set the mark in 2016 in a prototype eO PP100 EV. Millen won the event in 2015 in an eO PP03—the first and only time an EV finished first.
The fastest time for a production EV was set by a Tesla Model S in 2016 at 11 minutes and 48 seconds. Sebastien Loeb set the overall record of eight minutes and 14 seconds four years ago in a Peugeot 208.
The Rocky Mountains course consists of 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft on grades averaging 7.2%. The first Pike Peak race was held in 1916. VW last competed in the event in 1987 with a specially equipped Golf.
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