Photo: Volkswagen
Thirty years after its last run in the Pikes Peak challenge, Volkswagen is set to return to the world's most famous hill climb this year, this time with an electric vehicle. The news has been confirmed by Volkswagen for a while now, but only on Monday did the carmaker reveal the name of the car.
On June 24, driver and Le Mans winner Romain Dumas will get behind the wheel of the I.D. R Pikes Peak, a four-wheel drive sports car from the company’s new I.D. family.
There are no official details regarding the technical specifications of the car, and the Germans don’t seem to be in any hurry of revealing any. Whatever the power and range of the model would be, they would have to be good enough to beat Rhys Millen’s electric vehicle time of 8:57.188, set on the famous climb in 2016.
In theory, the electric VW should perform great on the course. Not using a combustion engine, the I.D. R Pikes Peak will be capable of maintaining constant power as it climbs to the top, a trait which promises to make a big difference.
"Pikes Peak is without question the most iconic hill climb in the world,” said Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s head of sales and marketing.
“For Volkswagen, it represents a fantastic opportunity to charge the topic of E mobility, both emotionally and from a sporting perspective, thanks to the I.D. R project."
Volkswagen's last entry in the hill climb race took place in 1987, when a dual engine Golf developing 652 horsepower didn’t manage to impress.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an annual event, taking cars on a climb of 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m). The road is made up of over 156 turns spread over a 12.42 miles (20 km) distance.
There are no official details regarding the technical specifications of the car, and the Germans don’t seem to be in any hurry of revealing any. Whatever the power and range of the model would be, they would have to be good enough to beat Rhys Millen’s electric vehicle time of 8:57.188, set on the famous climb in 2016.
In theory, the electric VW should perform great on the course. Not using a combustion engine, the I.D. R Pikes Peak will be capable of maintaining constant power as it climbs to the top, a trait which promises to make a big difference.
"Pikes Peak is without question the most iconic hill climb in the world,” said Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s head of sales and marketing.
“For Volkswagen, it represents a fantastic opportunity to charge the topic of E mobility, both emotionally and from a sporting perspective, thanks to the I.D. R project."
Volkswagen's last entry in the hill climb race took place in 1987, when a dual engine Golf developing 652 horsepower didn’t manage to impress.
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an annual event, taking cars on a climb of 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m). The road is made up of over 156 turns spread over a 12.42 miles (20 km) distance.
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