VW Promises Proper Rs for I.D. Range

Volkswagen is going all in on electric cars and that means more than just retro models and more driving range. It also means performance, which Jost Capito, head of VW’s R department, promises will be worth waiting for.

“If we do an R electric car, then it will be a proper R, or else it wouldn’t make sense,” Capito told AutoCar.

Better yet, Capito promises that there’s a timeline in place for these products, albeit a loose one.

“We have an idea, based on what’s going on on the racing and production side, but we haven’t defined a date yet.” He told Autocar. “The development [in EV technology] is going too quick that. Every month you have changes. At some point, you have to say: this is what we want, define it and go for it.”

Back at Pikes Peak, Capito told VW Vortex that the I.D. R was better, from a development standpoint, than Formula E for electric performance cars.

“This is like racing 50, 60 years ago,” he told us then. “You start with something that is impractical in the real world and you work on it until it becomes practical.”

According to Capito, the I.D. R program made leaps and strides in working out the compromise between power and range. You may remember that the I.D. R only had enough battery capacity to get it 80% of the way up Pikes Peak, but that it would get the rest of the power through braking on the way up.

That decision involved deciding how much weight the team thought it could afford, how much power it thought it needed (because the motors were capable of making more than just 600 hp), and how far the brakes could carry it. It was a delicate balance, just like making a performance car for the road.

Selecting a model to turn into an R, therefore is complicated. “You need space for motors and batteries, and battery technology,” he told Autocar. “It’s more complex than in the past with performance engines.”

Although the I.D. hatchback is the clear, traditional choice, the I.D. Crozz’s space may make it an even more attractive option for Volkswagen R.

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