And by racing we mean hill-climb. And by hill-climb we mean the ultimate event, Pikes Peak – an event it last competed in, in 1987 with a twin-engined Golf. Meet the oddly-titled VW ID R Pikes Peak Racer Concept, a full EV built to compete in the 2018 Pikes Peak Electric Modified Class. And before you spill your drink we must warn you that these visuals are still at the rendering stage, but since the world of motorsport is a lot more fantastical than the public streets you can count on the finished product looking quite similar. At the wheel will be Romain Dumas, last year’s winner. So I guess you could say Wolfsburg are getting serious. We’re just glad to see them back in motorsport after their 2016 departure from the world rally stage.
More about the ID R
Volkswagen returns to Pikes Peak after 31 year hiatus
Well it doesn’t exactly stand for I Don’t Race, does it? No, this electric beast does the boogaloo to the hum of VW’s MEB modular EV platform with four-wheel-drive, something the VW-Audi group have great legacy with I’m sure you’ll agree (Quattro! Cough, cough, Group B!). It will have to have some serious electric gubbins under that sleek slice of unobtanium to beat Rhys Millen’s record run of 8min57.118sec or but that is ostensibly The Plan. As VW’s Jurgen Stackmann explains “the I.D. R project represents a fantastic opportunity for Volkswagen to change the conversation about e-mobility, both emotionally and from a sporting perspective.” And why not. Nothing has moved on the realm of the motorcar as much as racing has, so why should the road to electric be any less exciting?
