Electric Volkswagen Takes Pikes Peak Win

The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak has made history at the legendary hill climb. The electric racer has shattered the electric and overall records at the race, becoming the first EV to win the Race to the Clouds.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is an annual race to the summit of Colorado's Pikes Peak. The track measures in at just shy of 20 km and climbs 1,440 metres up the mountain. It takes more than 156 turns to do it and the finish line is at a massive 4,300 m above sea level.

The I.D. R, with Romain Dumas behind the wheel, has just broken the eight minute mark for the first time. Dumas set a time of 7m 57.148 seconds. That breaks the overall record by 16 seconds, beating the time set by Sebastien Loeb in 2013 in a highly modified Peugeot 208. It destroyed the existing electric record, set by Rhys Millen in 2016, coming just a hair under a full minute faster.

Volkswagen's electric racer generates a whopping 680 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. It can hit 100 km/h in 2.25 seconds, and thanks to lightweight construction and batteries it tips the scales at under 1,100 kg. The electric powertrain means that unlike the turbocharged gas cars on the hill, the I.D. R makes as much power at the top as it does at sea level.

VW was able to charge the car at the starting line using glycerol, a sugar alcohol that's a byproduct of biodiesel production. The green fuel-powered generators charged the I.D. R in just 20 minutes.