Volkswagen’s I.D. R electric race car has shattered the 20-year record set by a McLaren Formula 1 car for the fastest run up the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill-climb. It was driven by Le Mans winner Romain Dumas and the vehicle was optimized for speed, so it ran with fewer batteries to save weight, an F1-style drag reduction system, improved aerodynamics, as well as soft compound Bridgestone tires. The official recorded time of 41.18 seconds to beat the previous record of 41.6 seconds previously held by McLaren. Read more to see the record-setting run video and additional information.
Back in June 2019, Volkswagen I.D. R claimed the Nürburgring electric car lap record after an earlier version set the fastest time ever recorded on the Pike’s Peak International hillclimb last year by 15 seconds. “We didn’t expect to do it so early, but I also don’t wish it had happened on the last run [on Sunday] because [what] if something goes wrong? Now we can work tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon a little bit for a different feeling. Still, apparently, there are some things we can improve to try and get under this 41 [second time]. We have to give ourselves a new target,” said Sven Smeets, Volkswagen’s motorsport director.