Skip to main content

VW signs past Pikes Peak winner Dumas to take a run at EV glory

Volkswagen has set firm crosshairs on landing a world-record run for an electric vehicle at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. And they’ve started out on their mission by playing one of the best possible aces out there: they’ve signed a three-time Pikes Peak winner, three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and 2016 World Endurance Championship winner, Frenchman Romain Dumas.

It’s been 30 years since VW last took a run at Pikes Peak, and when the brand returns for this year’s running it will mark the debut of its first-ever all-electric race car. Electric cars have found quick success at the historic hill climb over the past few years, with New Zealander Rhys Millen even taking the eO PP03 to an overall victory in 2015.

Volkswagen is building an entirely new electric prototype for 2018 with which it hopes to take advantage of the generous technical freedom granted by the regulations in the electric modified class and best the current record for an EV, which was a run of 8:57.118 set by Millen in the e0 PP100 in 2016.

“There is one big advantage of having an electric car in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: the power remains constant over the entire 20-kilometer route,” Dumas said in a press release. “By contrast, vehicles fitted with combustion engines lose a significant amount of power in the thin mountain air. I had to live with that in my previous appearances here. I am really looking forward to being able to drive from the start at (9,390 ft) to the finishing line (at 14,110 ft) at full power for the first time.

“The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a big challenge because every driver only has one attempt. But I have real faith in Volkswagen Motorsport. The team is highly motivated and has already shown on many occasions that it is capable of achieving success right away on unfamiliar terrain.”

“Romain is one of the fastest drivers to have ever entered the Pikes Peak race,” added Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. “What’s more, he has thousands of kilometers of experience with racing prototypes under his belt. This makes him the perfect driver for Volkswagen as it makes its debut with a fully electric racing car.”

The 2018 running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will take place on Sunday, June 24.

The post VW signs past Pikes Peak winner Dumas to take a run at EV glory appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2FB9wCO
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen’s Gone to California with Grand California Camper

Volkswagen is bringing the California XXL concept to production. It will debut at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon as the Grand California. It’s set to be based on the medium wheelbase Crafter van. That’s the company’s full-size commercial van, larger than the T6 Transporter based California. The high roof means room for adults to stand up, though it won’t get the concept’s extended length. The Grand California offers a full wet bathroom. It’s not exactly spacious, though, measuring in at around 31.5 x 33-inches. A toilet, shower, and sink are all crammed into that space, but at least there are motion sensor lights to stop you from reaching for a switch. Standard, the Grand California it comes with berths for two adults. Space for two children is optional, but they’ll be stuck in a berth amove the driver’s area. The kitchen offers a sink, stove, and two fridges. The front seats swivel to add seating space when the RV is parked. It’s also got solar panels, an integrated satellite dish,...
Post a Comment
Read more

2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump

Filed under: Volkswagen , Crossover Continue reading 2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump 2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog https://ift.tt/5syqkoQ
Post a Comment
Read more