Friday, April 24, 2020

PINNACLE OF PERFORMANCE AT PIKES PEAK by John Crawford

I've written about Pikes Peak many times, mostly focussing on Bentley's efforts to conquer the course, and although these two You Tube videos have been around for a while, I thought you'd enjoy watching Sebastian Loeb's effort in a Peugeot 208R in 2013.



https://youtu.be/Y20CLumT2Sg

However, I'm sure you'll be absolutely blown away by the performance of the Volkswagen ID-R.

https://youtu.be/QIQ45P2DBXM

But first some details on the VW racer.

The VW ID-R built to ascend Pikes Peak weighs less than 1100kg, says Volkswagen, but its 500kW and 650Nm output places it literally near the very summit of automotive performance.

The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak is driven by two electric motors, which draw power from a lithium-ion battery pack. Volkswagen claims the race car will recover 20 per cent of the energy it needs for the run from braking.


“Volkswagen’s goal is to reach the pinnacle of electromobility with the I.D. family. As such, Volkswagen’s involvement on Pikes Peak not only sets the trend for our future in motorsport, but is also of great symbolic significance in the truest sense,” said Volkswagen Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Development, Dr Frank Welsch.
“Customers have always benefited from results achieved in motorsport, and we expect to take our new findings and use them as a valuable impetus for the development of future I.D. models. The hill climb on Pikes Peak is definitely a real acid test for the electric drive.”
The ‘pilote’ of the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak was Romain Dumas, who has won Pikes Peak three times, and is the defending champion. Driving the competition course the 39-year-old Frenchman negotiates 156 corners. The course begins 2862 metres above sea level, and tops out at 4302 metres.
The new record is 7’:47.148”!
Congratulations Romain!

John Crawford

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