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Volkswagen ID.R Goes After Nick Heidfeld’s Record at Goodwood

For the past year or so, the Volkswagen ID.R electric race car has been traveling the world shattering records at an alarming rate. It all started in 2018 at Pikes Peak, then moved to Goodwood or Nurburgring to set new times in incredible challenges. And now it’s at it again, apparently retracing its steps.
Volkswagen ID.R 5 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen ID.R at NurburgringVolkswagen ID.R at NurburgringVolkswagen ID.R at NurburgringVolkswagen ID.R at Nurburgring
Last year, the ID.R piloted by its favorite driver Romain Dumas set the fastest time for electric cars on the 1.86 km (1.16 mi) track at  Goodwood with 43.05 seconds. In doing so, it beat the previous time set by a Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV. But at Goodwood there are more than one records to shatter.

The current record for Formula 1 cars going up the hill was set by Nick Heidfeld in 1999, when he did the run in 41.6 seconds. The car he used for this feat was a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13.

This year, Volkswagen plans to beat that time and its own performance of last year with it.

“A change is taking place in the field of production vehicles and in motorsport. Electric cars are becoming increasingly more powerful and have long since reached the same level as cars with combustion engines in many areas,” said in a statement Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport director.

“In Goodwood, we want to show that the electric drivetrain in the ID.R can mix it with Formula 1. However, whether or not Romain Dumas can successfully challenge Nick Heidfeld’s track record also depends on the conditions at the weekend.”

To date, the ID.R managed to achieve everything it set out to do, not missing any of its targets. Helping the car do this is its electric powertrain.

The German record-setter is powered by two electric motors that develop 680 horsepower and 650 Nm of torque. That was enough to get the car up Pikes Peak in 7:57.148 minutes and around the Nurburgring in 6:05.336 minutes.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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