VW's Pikes Peak Challenger Is Here With 671bhp And A Giant Wing

If Wolfsburg gets its way, the VW ID R will be the fastest electric car to ever take on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

The last time VW had a go at the formidable challenge of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, it involved a twin-engined Mk2 VW Golf. Now, the German car giant’s motorsport arm has revealed what is effectively the follow-up, and while not quite so noisy, it’s arguably just as unhinged.

It’s called the ID R, and it’s by far the most exciting thing VW has applied its burgeoning electric vehicle sub-brand to. Just look at the size of the rear wing!

The car was partially revealed a few weeks ago, but now we have some proper technical details to go on. Most importantly, what it’ll be powered by: it has two motors making a combined 671bhp and 470lb ft.

Sounds fairly modest compared to a lot of the bonkers electric hypercars we’ve seen lately, but the ID R is reasonably light: it’ll weigh “less than” 1100kg, making 0-62mph possible in 2.25 seconds. Not the most relevant stat for a car like this, but hey - it gives you a rough idea of how quickly this thing will scythe its way up the legendary course in Colorado.

The motors will be powered by a set of lithium-ion batteries, but where it gets interesting is energy recovery: the power generated under braking will make up a whopping 20 per cent of the total juice used by the ID R during the run.

VW isn’t targeting the outright record of 8:13.878 set by Sebastien Loeb aboard the Peugeot 208 T16 in 2013. Instead, driver Romain Dumas - a two-time Le Mans winner - will be gunning for the electric record of 8min 57.118sec. That time was set by Rhys Millen in the e0 PP100, a car with nearly two and a half times the peak power of the ID R. We can’t wait to see how this thing gets on.

The 2018 running of Pikes Peak will take place on 24 June.