Next stop Green Hell: After 2018 Pikes Peak triumph, Volkswagen shifts 2019 ambitions to the Nürburgring with the I.D. R electric race car

After setting an all-time record in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb last year, Volkswagen is now setting its sights on another legendary motorsports destination as the next stop for their victorious I.D. R electric race car: the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, nicknamed “Green Hell” for its verdant surroundings and reputation as the most harrowing race track on the globe.

Volkswagen’s triumph at Pikes Peak, with the I.D. R in the skilled hands of driver Romain Dumas, was arguably one of the top automotive news stories of 2018. According to Volkswagen, Dumas was the first driver in the more than 100-year history of the event to complete the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in under eight minutes.

It was an achievement that captured the imagination of the industry press and motorsports fans, creating a moment that may be remembered as a defining milestone as electric vehicles continue to work their way down the path from a novelty with a 2 percent market share to a viable mainstream transportation option.

The underlying strategy seems to be that Volkswagen is leveraging their electric motorsports effort to blaze a trail for upcoming EV offerings. In a press release, Volkswagen characterized the I.D. R Pikes Peak as an “ambassador to an entire range of electric vehicles” they plan to launch starting in 2020.

“After the record on Pikes Peak, the fastest time for electric cars on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is the next big challenge for the ID. R,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. “A lap record on the Nordschleife is a great accolade for any car, whether a race car or a production car.”

Volkswagen ventured into their Pikes Peak effort last year in a spirit of confidence, boldly predicting their record-setting victory weeks in advance of the Hill Climb event. Now, however, perhaps in a strategic shift aimed at building anticipation and suspense ahead of the I.D. R Pikes Peak’s appearance at the Nürburgring, the automaker seems more circumspect.

That makes sense, because the bottom-heavy architecture of the battery-powered I.D. R electric race car presents a downforce advantage in the windy, steeply sloped environment of the Pikes Peak course. Most likely, this is what enabled Volkswagen to approach Pikes Peak confidently with the goal of breaking the overall time record for the Hill Climb, rather than a record in a category specific to electric-powertrain vehicles.

The conditions at the Nürburgring, however, present a different set of challenges. Accordingly, the Volkswagen motorsports team is making some adjustments—and focusing on breaking the record for electric vehicles.  

“Above all, we will modify the aerodynamics of the ID. R, in order to cope with the conditions on the Nordschleife, which differ greatly from those on Pikes Peak,” says François-Xavier Demaison, Technical Director at Volkswagen Motorsport. “As part of our meticulous preparations for the record attempt, we will put the ID. R through an intense test and development program at various racetracks in the spring.”

Though similarly cautious, driver Dumas seems ready for the challenge.

“The thought of driving the ID. R on the Nordschleife is already enough to give me goosebumps,” Dumas said. “I know the track very well, but the ID. R will be a completely different challenge, with its extreme acceleration and huge cornering speeds. I can hardly wait for the first tests. Breaking the existing electric record will certainly not be a stroll in the park.”

Specifically, Dumas is targeting a Nürburgring record of 6:45.90 minutes in the fully-electric vehicle category, set in 2017 by British driver Peter Dumbreck, who drove a NIO EP9. Based on that record, the NIO EP9 is often billed as “the world’s fastest electric car”—a distinction that Volkswagen will challenge this summer when the I.D. R Pikes Peak makes its Nürburgring debut.