VW reveals electric racer I.D. R Pikes Peak (video)
VW has followed its plan to present its electric supercar and has unwrapped the I.D. R Pikes Peak on Sunday with testing commencing today. The light racer is built for one purpose, or rather peak alone.
Volkswagen is planning to steal the record for an electric vehicle at the US mountain race at Pikes Peak in Colorado on June 24 and therefore came up with the I.D. R Pikes Peak, which is said to accelerate faster than any Formula 1 or Formula E racer out there.
In numbers this means the I.D. R Pikes Peak can go from 0 to 100 kph in 2.25 seconds, according to VW. Such speed comes from two electric motors that combine for 500 kW power and permament four-wheel drive, and 650 Nm of torque for an electric car that weighs less than 1,100 kilos including the driver.
The I.D. R Pikes Peak was unveiled in the Alès, France, before taking to the racetrack for the first time. While the racer is a one-off, VW does hope for serial spill-over effect.
Says Volkswagen Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Development, Dr. Frank Welsch: “Customers have always benefitted from the findings made in motorsport, and we expect to take these findings and use them as a valuable impetus for the development of future I.D. models.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxO1TFh40Ag
The I.D. R Pikes Peak uses the same Li-ion batteries as other electric Volkswagen models. However, the motorsport engineers did not aim for range but the highest possible power output on the way to the summit. About 20 percent of the electric energy required is generated during the 20-kilometre race through energy recovery when braking. The batteries are mounted on the floor of the racer.
Racing for VW at Pikes Peak will be Romain Dumas. The existing record for electric cars stands at 8:57.118 minutes to overcome 1,440 vertical metres of climbing and 156 corners in one single attempt.
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