All-electric VW I.D. R smashes Pikes Peak hillclimb record

Volkswagen has made history, destroying the record for the gruelling Pikes Peak hillclimb event in an all-electric competitor – the I.D. R.

Named in line with VW’s upcoming electric vehicles, the I.D. Cross and the I.D. Buzz, the R is a rather more hardcore vehicle – built specifically for Pikes Peak and its 156 turns.

Electric cars have an inherent advantage over combustion ones on the Pikes Peak course. The finish line of Pikes Peak is 14,115 feet above sea level, and standard cars will lose significant amounts of power at that altitude. Electric cars have no such issues, meaning power is consistent the whole way up the hill.

Dumas’ eventual time was 7:57.1, more than 16 seconds faster than Sebastian Loeb’s previous record of 8:13.8. Loeb set that record in 2013 at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 T16.

“That was an unbelievable race,” said Dumas upon finishing. “I have been trying to get under eight minutes for years. Now it has finally worked out.

“I found my rhythm fast and my first sector was nearly perfect. I had some fog in the second section and that made the turns very slippery.”

The I.D. R produces 671bhp from its two electric motors. It’s been built for the project in just eight months, with some groundbreaking technology involved – including a hyper-quick sub-20 minute charge cycle to stay within Pikes Peak rules.

“Developing a car like the I.D. R Pikes Peak in just eight months is a real feat of engineering,” finished Dumas. “The lads have earned the chance to celebrate properly and then to get plenty of sleep.”

Pikes Peak wasn’t all about electrification, though, as another arm of the Volkswagen Group took home its own record. Bentley didn’t just break a record, it smashed it – with a lightly modified Bentayga taking two minutes off the previous record for production SUVs.

At the hands of two-time Pikes Peak champion Rhys Millen, the Bentayga – which was production-spec other than racing seats, Pirelli tyres and a roll cage and fire suppression system – returned a time of 10:49.9 – taking nearly two minutes off the previous record of 12:35.6 set in a Range Rover Sport back in 2014.