After beating EV lap record at the Nurburgring in June, Volkswagen ID R broke 20 years old Goodwood hill climb record set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13 Formula One race car. The 2-time Le Mans-winner Romain Dumas completed the 1.16-mile hill climb in 39.9 seconds beating the old 41.6 seconds record.
While we give full credit to Dumas, who also recorded a win at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June last year, it wouldn’t have been possible without ID R’s fine-tuning, which was done to make this electric race car more capable for the Goodwood hill climb.
“I am very proud to have set the all-time record in Goodwood with the ID R,” Dumas stated after making this record. “The short hill climb is a very special challenge; because the track is so short, I could not afford to make even the slightest mistake, and every aspect of the fine-tuning of the ID R had to be perfect.”
After Volkswagen ID R set the record at the Pikes Peak, the engineers at VW knew the challenge they were facing for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Therefore, they made several adjustments in the car to make it lighter and more capable. They installed a smaller battery, ditched the drag reduction system, and made other changes to shed 2,200 pounds.
“We have developed another evolutionary stage of the ID R—a sprint version with smaller batteries, to further reduce weight,” Volkswagen Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier Demaison clarified. “We have also opted for a far more aggressive energy management strategy for the short distance; you need very high output for a short time for the sprint in Goodwood.”
Volkswagen is working very hard on the ID family and improving its technology to provide highly advanced all-electric cars to customers. The first model in the range, the ID 3 hatchback, will break cover in September.