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Volkswagen ID. R sets Goodwood Hillclimb record

Volkswagen's all-electric ID. R has smashed the record time up the Goodwood Hillclimb, cutting 1.7 seconds from the time set by Nick Heidfeld in a 1998 McLaren Formula 1 car.


Driven by Romain Dumas, the ID. R is the first car ever to complete the climb in less than 40 seconds. The hillclimb record comes after the ID. R set a new marker for electric cars around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, knocking 40 seconds from the existing EV record.

The car's 6:05.336 lap time around the Green Hell is also six seconds faster than Stefan Bellof's long-standing outright lap record in a Porsche 956, although the 919 Evo has since moved the goalposts on for Porsche.

Power in the ID. R comes from two electric motors offering a combined 500kW and 650Nm, good for a 100km/h sprint time of just 2.25 seconds. The motors are fed by a lithium-ion battery pack, although VW hasn't disclosed its size.

The car weighs under 1100kg with a driver on board – heavy for a tiny racer, but light compared to the average electric car.

"A change is taking place in the field of production vehicles and in motorsport. Electric cars are becoming increasingly more powerful and it’s great to see them now rivalling combustion engines on track," said Sven Smeets, director of Volkswagen motorsport.

"To get an idea of how far we’ve developed the car, in 2018 we ran a 00:43.86 – this year we were almost three seconds faster."

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