In October 2017, Volkswagen announced their return to the iconic Pikes Peak Hill Climb racing with the teaser of an electric car. Now, the German giant has revealed two images of a four-wheel-drive, electrically-powered contender which was developed by their motorsport division. Called the ID R Pikes Peak, the racecar will mark its debut at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June.
Volkswagen will enter the “unlimited” class, where manufacturers and private teams are given complete freedom with respect to technology. The digital rendering of the ID R Pikes Peak reveals a very futuristic looking race car which seems ready for a takeoff. As the hill climb demands, there is a massive rear wing at the back with a shark fin tail. The overall bodyshell is very aerodynamic. There is a contrasting black splitter up front to help with the high speed cornering on the hill climb while there are air vents to create as much downforce as possible. The headlights are similar to other I.D. concepts.
Although VW has revealed no technical details of the driveline, we know it will be powered by two electric motors – one for each axle – lending it a four-wheel drive set-up. The supplying juice to the motors will be a large lithium-ion battery pack of an undisclosed capacity.
Interestingly, Volkswagen has stated that the new electric race car will be the first step in bringing together Volkswagen R and Volkswagen Motorsport (the performance and motorsport) divisions of the automaker. The ID R Pikes Peak not only spearheads Volkswagen’s plans of an electric future but will also preview the new-age electric cars, the first of which will roll out from VW’s Zwickau factory in Germany by the end of 2019.
This isn’t VW’s first attempt at the hill climb as it had entered a twin-engined 652bhp Golf GTI way back in 1987. The current electric car record of the “Race to the Clouds” is of 8min 57.118sec. It is under the belt of ace driver Rhys Millen since 2016.
