Volkswagen ID R sets new Goodwood Hill Climb record
Volkswagen's electric ID R race car smashed a 20-year-old record at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Volkswagen's electric ID R race car broke the Goodwood Hill Climb record on Friday, completing a 41.18-second run up the infamous English circuit. The previous record of 41.6 seconds was set in 1999, by a McLaren MP4/13.
Driver Romain Dumas was the one who piloted the ID R to this victory, and he's no strange to record-breaking runs. In 2018, Dumas set the record for electric vehicles at Goodwood, with a 43.96-second time. Dumas also set the overall record run at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, though that time was bested this year by Rhys Millen in a Bentley Continental GT.
The ID R is a fully electric race car. At the time of its Pikes Peak run in 2018, it had an impressive 680 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, fed by a 43-kilowatt-hour battery pack, with an electric motor at both axles. At the time, Volkswagen said the ID R could accelerate to 60 miles per hour in just 2.25 seconds, which is seriously quick.
Volkswagen says it "opted for a far more aggressive energy management strategy for the short distance" at the Goodwood circuit, according to a statement. "You need very high output for a very short time for the sprint in Goodwood," said François-Xavier Demaison, Volkswagen Motorsport technical director.
Whether or not Volkswagen will be able to hold onto the Goodwood record remains to be seen. But with more and more electric racers hitting the Goodwood scene each year, we're sure the competition will get seriously fierce.
Source:cnet.com
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