All-electric Volkswagen ID.R breaks 20-year-old Goodwood hill climb record

The Volkswagen ID.R set the fastest time ever recorded on the Goodwood hill climb during last weekend’s Festival of Speed.

With a run of 39.9 seconds, the all-electric racing prototype beat the long-standing record by 1.7 seconds. That time was set by German racer Nick Heidfeld in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 F1 car all the way back in 1999.

The record was set by French driver Romain Dumas on Saturday during practice for the official competition, which took place on the Sunday. The 41-year-old had been expected to go faster again, but poor weather hampered his efforts, leaving him to win the shootout with a time of 42.32 seconds.

Dumas said: “I am very proud to have set the all-time record in Goodwood with the ID.R.

“The short hill climb 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.”

The Goodwood hill climb is the third record the ID.R has taken, having won the Pikes Peak hill climb in America and taking the all-electric record at the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.

The 671bhp EV was modified for the 1.2-mile run up the Duke of Richmond’s Sussex driveway. Because it’s such a short sprint, VW was able to remove some of the batteries to drop the vehicle weight below one tonne while keeping the power output high.

The drag reduction system, which lifts a flap in the rear spoiler to reduce drag and increase top speed, was also removed because it was deemed ‘superfluous’ on the tight and twisty course.

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