2018 was a good year for Volkswagen’s electric racing I.D. R, as it completely obliterated the standing record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. That car managed to smash 12 miles of mountain roads and 156 corners in less than 8 minutes with consummate pro Romain Dumas at the wheel. Volkswagen is so confident in its Hyper EV that it will have a chance to shine at the Nurburgring later this year, according to this report by Motorsport.com, and I’m so freakin’ amped.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s sister company Porsche set a new lap record at the Nurburgring in 2018 as well. The other German brand’s 919 Hybrid Evo managed to wipe the scoreboard with a new lap time of 5:19.546, which is an insanely fast time.
The current electric record was set by Peter Dumbreck (a 6:45.90 lap) in a NIO EP9 supercar in 2017. Volkswagen seems confident the I.D. R will land somewhere in between those two records, setting a new EV record, but not quite eclipsing the outright record.
I wouldn’t be so sure. I think there might be more speed in this car than the team are letting on.
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For one thing, Romain Dumas will again be at the wheel of the electric VW, and he’s a four-time winner of the Nurburgring 24, so he knows the circuit about as well as anyone can.
VW Motorsport director Sven Smeets disclosed to Motorsport.com: “After the record on Pikes Peak, the fastest time for electric cars on the Nurburgring Nordschleife is the next big challenge for the I.D. R. A lap record on the Nordschleife is a great accolade for any car, whether a race car or a production car.”
For another thing, a lap of the Nurburgring will inherently have a much higher average speed than a run up Pikes Peak, simply by virtue of the number of slow hairpin turns found on the mountain. The Nurburgring Nordschleife is a couple miles longer overall, but many of its corners are wide angle bends. And that’s to say nothing of the 2.135 kilometer long Dottinger Hohe straight.
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With a little development, the I.D. R has some serious potential to run down the 919 Hybrid Evo’s lap record.
The electric record attempt will take place this summer, but Volkswagen would not disclose an exact date.
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