The Volkswagen ID R wants to set a Nürburgring record
Well, why not, right? Volkswagen, having already broken the Pikes Peak record, now wants another one: it wants to become the fastest EV at the Nürburgring.
And it wants to become the fastest EV at the Nürburgring soon – we’re told the attempt will take place at some point in the summer of this year, 2019. “A lap record on the Nordschleife is a great accolade for any car, whether a race car or a production car,” explains VW motorsports boss Sven Smeets.
The team is gunning for Peter Dumbreck’s 2017 record-setting EV run, when he took the NIO EP9 and managed 6m 45.9s.
There’ll be a fair few changes made to the aero of the mad VW ID R over the version that ran at Pikes Peak. Largely because Pikes Peak starts at 2,862m above sea level and finishes at 4,302m. The ‘Ring? Between 320m and 617m above sea level.
What won’t change is that drivetrain. There are still a pair of electric motors – one on each axle – developing a total of 670bhp and 649Nm of torque. It’s capable of pulling between four and five G under braking. It harvests a significant amount of energy.
And – as we found out upon attempting to drive the thing quickly – is quite an effective sleep aid. Well, if a G force-indcued loss of consciousness counts as sleep, anyhow.
Step forward the person tasked with running it through one of the world’s toughest circuits: Romain Dumas. He set the Pikes Peak record, and has a string of Nürburgring 24-hour victories to his name, along with Le Mans pedigree too. He’s pretty pumped.
“The thought of driving the ID R on the Nordschleife is already enough to give me goosebumps,” he says. Goosebumps isn’t what we’d be thinking of, if we’re honest.
“I know the track very well, but the ID R will be a completely different challenge, with its extreme acceleration and huge cornering speeds,” he adds. “Breaking the existing electric record will certainly not be a stroll in the park.”
Watch this space…
