Pikes Peak-winning VW I.D. R smashes Goodwood electric car record
Volkswagen's all-electric I.D. R has smashed the official Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb record for electric vehicles, beating the existing time by 3.5 seconds

Last month, the 680bhp, four-wheel-drive sports prototype won at Pikes Peak, where two-time Le Mans winner Romain Dumas bettered Sebastien Loeb's 8m13.878s outright record set in a Peugeot 208 T16, by 16s.
At the Festival of Speed, the I.D. R was entered into the timed Shootout and, during Saturday's qualifying run, Dumas set a weekend best time of 43.05s up the 1.16-mile route.
In the hotter temperatures of the Final, he was slower with a 43.86s run but still topped the leaderboards and beat the existing Goodwood electric record of 47.34s, set by Jonny Cocker in the 850bhp Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV in 2013.
"It was a good race, it was not easy," said Dumas. "The limit was very close and we just made this one as clean as possible, no risk.
"We have to come back next year to beat the overall record."
On the morning of the Final, during an untimed run, Dumas made a mistake when he "found the limit" and sent the car sliding over the grass but managed to slow before hitting the hay bales lining the course.
"I just lost the car, but it was a good slide actually," said Dumas. "I said [to myself] 'now, if I back off we'll finish on our back or somewhere close to the trees'."
Francois-Xavier Demaison, VW Motorsport's technical boss, reckoned the car has the potential to go faster in the future.
Due to the rapid turnaround from Pikes Peak, the team had not been able to sufficiently tune the I.D. R's set-up for Goodwood.
"This car has been designed for Pikes Peak, for a 20-kilometre race," he told Autosport. "We have too much energy for this race.
"This is not designed for this 1.8-kilometre distance, but I think we have some ideas to make it faster for the future."
The VW I.D. R continues a record-breaking run of form for the Volkswagen Group.
On top of the I.D. R's double hillclimb success, the upgraded Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo LMP1 car has unofficially broken both the Nurburgring Nordschleife and Spa-Francorchamps lap records.
Although the 919 Hybrid Evo did run at the Festival of Speed, Porsche turned down the chance to attack the outright hillclimb record of 41.60s set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 Formula 1 car in 1999.

Previous article
Scott Pruett escapes Lexus fire at Goodwood Festival of Speed
Next article
F1 legend Mika Hakkinen open to racing return at Goodwood Revival

Pikes Peak-winning VW I.D. R smashes Goodwood electric car record
Trending
The unusual racing journey forged by a youthful historics ace
Two championships and two class titles in four seasons mark historics ace Benn Tilley as a special talent. Here’s how the Lincolnshire racer progressed from Junior Saloons to become Autosport’s top club driver of 2020
How the Marshall club racing dynasty remains intact
As the son of club racing legend Gerry, Gregor Marshall has racing in his blood. Although his ambitions are modest, his determination to get his Vauxhall Firenza on the grid at the 2020 Goodwood SpeedWeek tells of a driver who relishes a challenge
The resurrection of a famous Le Mans shape
Seemingly lost forever, the Bristol 450 coupe design is racing again thanks to one of historic racing's feel-good projects
The indie rocker's renaissance in historic touring cars
Camaros, Capris and Rover SD1s have hogged the stage as Group 1 touring cars returned to popularity. But there are alternative ways to race, and some eclectic machinery can be found if you look closely
Why pro success in historics shouldn't be taken for granted
High-profile cameos at top historic events are increasingly common. ELMS champion and historic ace Sam Hancock explains why they can't be expected to jump straight in at the sharp end
The historic racing ace keeping classic Jaguars winning
An ace preparer of historic Jaguars, Gary Pearson is also one of the world's leading drivers of some of the greatest sports-racers, and has built an enviable record of success in the major Goodwood meetings. Now 60, he's showing no signs of slowing down
The unintended consequences of banning pros from historics
OPINION: Clubs and organisers understandably need to control driving standards in their events, but Masters Historic Racing's recent crackdown on its 'pro' racers could be counterproductive
Promoted: Bringing new solutions to old problems
KW Heritage has only recently joined the historics arena, but it has already started making a difference