It’s the VW I.D. R Pikes Peak challenger, an racing
prototype similar in form to a Le Mans prototype (like the 919 Hybrid that
sister-brand Porsche fielded at Le Mans until this year). But this one is
all-electric, packing two electric motors to give it a combined output of 680
hp – not quite as much as a Tesla Model S P100D (779 hp) but in a much lighter package, and with far more extreme aerodynamics.
Presented until now in a bare carbon fiber,
Volkswagen has now revealed the I.D. R in its final race livery. Like some of
the other I.D. concepts we’ve seen to date, it’s decked out in light grey. And
it bears the race number 94 – the numeric equivalent of the letters I.D. (based
on where they fall in the alphabet). Altogether it looks pretty slick, to our
eyes anyway.
Muscling the electric racing prototype up the
20-kilometer Race to the Clouds will be none other than Romain
Dumas, the French driver who took overall victory at Le Mans twice: once with
Audi, and another with Porsche. He’s driving for the latter at Le Mans this
weekend, and once he’s done, he’ll set out for Colorado almost immediately to
prepare for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
To win, Dumas will have to beat the time of 8:57.118
set by Rhys Millen in another electric prototype two years ago – and the
8:13.878 set by Sebastien Loeb in the Peugeot 208 T16 three years prior, which
still stands as the overall record. We’ll be watching to see how he does.
