Electric Volkswagen ID.R is faster in hillclimb than old Formula 1 car

Volkswagen has completed the 1.86km hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​in 39.9 seconds with its electric ID.R. That is faster than the record set in 1999 by driver Nick Heidfeld with a Formula 1 car at 41.6 seconds.

Romain Dumas maneuvered the Volkswagen ID.R up the hill in record time last Saturday and was faster than the old record during that ride. However, during the official race on Sunday, Dumas was unable to reproduce the time and therefore Heidfeld’s record still stands.

Last year, Volkswagen also won the hillclimb during the Goodwood festival with the same car, but then the car did not go faster than Heidfeld’s record time. That worked now, after Volkswagen had made adjustments to the batteries. The fully electrically driven ID.R has a power of 680 hp and weighs less than 1000 kg.

The Formula 1 car that held the record for twenty years was a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 with a V10 petrol engine producing 780 hp. Nick Heidfeld was one of the last drivers to climb the mountain in an F1 car in 1999. For safety reasons, Formula 1 cars were later banned from participating.

Volkswagen created the ID.R to compete in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. Last year, the electric car also broke the record there. This year, Volkswagen set the fastest time for EVs on the Nürburgring with a modified version of the ID.R.