WOLFSBURG: With 680PS at its disposal, the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak electric vehicle (EV) has set a new timed record for both EVs and internal combustion engines.

The super sleek 1,100kg EV was helmed by Frenchman Romain Dumas, who completed the course in seven minutes 57.148 seconds - breaking the previous record for EVs as well as Sébastien Loeb’s 2013 time in a Peugeot 208 race car by 16 seconds.

Dumas now joins the list of Pikes Peak champions that include Loeb, Walter Röhrl, Michèle Mouton, Stig Blomqvist, Nobuhiro Tajima as well as Rod Millen and his son Rhys.

“The I.D. R Pikes Peak is the sporty forerunner of Volkswagen’s I.D. family. Today, we saw what this technology is capable of,” said Volkswagen Passenger Cars member of the board of management (Technical Development) Dr Frank Welsch.

The EV was faced with the daunting task of completing the 19.9km route with 156 corners in just one attempt - no pressure.

The EV was completed after 250 days on Oct 18, 2017 and has the ability to have its batteries fully charged in less than 20 minutes.

The electricity required was provided by generators at the foot of Pikes Peak, using Glycerol - a sugar alcohol, as the fuel which combusts with almost no harmful exhaust fumes or residues and is non-toxic.

Volkswagen has had some strong partners on its side for the record attempt on Pikes Peak, in the form of Volkswagen R, ANSYS, Michelin, Integral e-drive and OMP.

With Volkswagen R, the EV received a sporting seal of approval from the outset, which it more than earned on its record-breaking run, if not before.

ANSYS also made a vital contribution to the success of the project by providing support with the software simulations.

The EVs electric motors, which together generated 500kW (680PS), were achieved in collaboration with partner Integral e-drive.

OMP put the icing on the cake – for example, with the featherweight racing overall for Romain Dumas, which perfectly complemented the lightweight design philosophy of the EV.

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