500kW Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak unveiled

Volkswagen has finally pulled the covers off its electric Pikes Peak assailant, the aptly named VW ID R Pikes Peak.

With 500kW of power from two electric engines, 650Nm of instant torque, less than 1100kg to carry, and all-wheel drive at its disposal, the ID R is capable of an astonishingly quick 2.25 second sprint to 100km/h.

After plenty of teasing and hinting on social media, we also now know what it looks like. A Prius this is not.

“As with the Volkswagen brand’s production vehicles, fully-electric racing cars will also play an increasingly important role for us in the future,” says Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets.

“The cooperation within the group really helped us, particularly given the tight schedule.

“For example, we received support from the Volkswagen battery plant in Braunschweig and worked together with the technical development department in Wolfsburg.”

The idea, VW says, was to find the right balance between weight and energy capacity. Too many batteries and the car is too heavy, too few and there’s not enough power.

“Roughly 20 percent of the electric energy required is generated during the 20-kilometre drive. The key here is energy recovery,” Volkswagen says.

“When braking, the electric engines, which in this case operate as generators, convert some of the braking energy into electricity and feed this into the battery.”

Driving the car at the Peak will be Romain Dumas, Porsche factory driver and defending Pikes Peak champ.

The much anticipated event will take place soon, on June 24 this year.

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