Volkswagen ID.R Beats Formula 1 Car to Break 20-Year-Old Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb Record

The Volkswagen ID.R has been on a mission to break lap records on some of the world’s most famous race tracks and courses. In 2018 it took on the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb, setting the fastest time of the weekend at 43.86-seconds, but that was not enough so this year it was back with its sights set firmly on breaking the outright hillclimb record set by Nick Heidfeld in 1999 in a McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 car. Even from the very first practice runs it was clear that the ID.R was going to achieve its goal and this all-electric 670hp race car stopped the clocks at 39.90 seconds, bettering the old record by an impressive 1.7-seconds.

“In setting the new all-time record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the ID.R has once again shown that Volkswagen’s electric powertrain can outperform even the most powerful conventional powertrains,” said Volkswagen motorsport director Sven Smeets. “Romain Dumas exploited the full potential of the ID.R on this short but tricky track. After the victory on Pikes Peak and the e-record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, he has now achieved another milestone for electromobility. It was a strong performance from our whole team, which only had a very short time in which to get a lightweight variant of the ID.R up and running for the Festival of Speed.”

The ID.R had been specifically set up to take on the short hillclimb, equipped with a smaller capacity battery and a bespoke suspension and aerodynamic setup. In this configuration, it weighs less than 2425 pounds and can reach 62mph in just 2.25-seconds. Its instant torque delivery and all-wheel-drive grip further aided the ID.R in setting that impressive record.

“I am very proud to have set the all-time record in Goodwood with the ID.R,” said driver Romain Dumas. “The short hillclimb is a very special challenge. Because the track is so short, I could not afford to make even the slightest mistake, and every aspect of the fine-tuning of the ID.R had to be perfect. That was particularly challenging, as we were not able to test on the route beforehand. This result and the previous lap records at the Nürburgring and Pikes Peak serve to underline just how far electric power has been developed in a very short space of time.”

While detractors may point out that the ID.R may not match internal combustion engines in race-conditions due to its battery pack range limitations (for now), there is no doubt that the ID.R is an impressive technological feat and a glimpse into the future of the automobile.

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