Skip to main content

The I.D. R’s Coming Back to Break Records at Goodwood

Fresh off its stunning performance at Pikes Peak, the I.D. R–VW’s electric performance showcase–will look to smash another motorsport record: the Goodwood Hillclimb.

“I still get goosebumps when I think about the magnificent success on Pikes Peak. However, that race is history now,” said Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsports Director. “We are looking ahead and looking forward to showing European fans the I.D. R Pikes Peak.”

Despite setting the all-time record at the Colorado Hillclimb, VW is again setting its sights on an electric record. In this case, the record was set by a Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV. In 2012 Johnny Cocker ran up the Lord March’s driveway in just 47.43 seconds.

The all out record, meanwhile, was set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 Formula 1 car. In 1999, he ran the Hillclimb in just 41.6 seconds.

“I am really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the I.D. R Pikes Peak at the Goodwood Festival of Speed,” says Romain Dumas, who drove at Pikes Peak. “The race in Duke of Richmond’s estate is a very special event that is steeped in tradition.”

Dumas, though, was careful to check expectations, saying that the Formula record would be extremely difficult to match in a car that weighs at least twice as much as an F1 car and made 200 hp less horsepower at Pikes Peak.

Intriguingly, though, VW engineers indicated to us at Pikes Peak, that the power output of the electric motors that power the I.D. R is not set. Rather, VW chose its 600 hp figure because it meant Dumas could be on maximum attack the whole 12 miles up. On a 1.6 mile track, though, the need to manage the battery’s charge will be less present, though the team will have even less time to set up the car for the event.

Whatever the case, the I.D. R won’t be VW’s only twin-motor car at Goodwood. Also on hand will be the 1988 Twin-Golf Pikes Peak, which ran but did not finish Pikes Peak with two engines.

Both will be at the historic event between July 12 and 15.

The post The I.D. R’s Coming Back to Break Records at Goodwood appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2KLW5Hv
via IFTTT

Comments

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...

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,...

Volkswagen Group Records Best Ever First-Half-of-Year Sales

With 5.5 million vehicles in customer hands after the first six months of 2018, the Volkswagen Group is seeing the best performance of its history. Group deliveries increased significantly in all core regions,” said Fred Kappler, head of sales for the Group. “Our core brands recorded strong growth in the first half year.” For the year-to-date, all of Volkswagen’s brands had sales bumps. MAN, SEAT, and Skoda led the sales charge with performances 24%, 17% and 11% better than the previous year. The big sellers, too, had strong sales periods, with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, and Volkswagen sales rising 3.5%, 4.5% and 6.3% respectively. That last figure is particularly good new for the board, since Volkswagen alone sold more than 3 million vehicles in the first half of 2018. As Kappler stated, the numbers are equally good when you break sales down by region. Brazil and Russia were the most improved markets (22% and 20%, respectively), while strong sales in Europe and China (u...