Fastest Electric Car Ever by VW ID.R
Volkswagen’s record breaking attempt at the Nurburgring Nordschleife saw the modified 500kW 680PS ID.R with four times Nurburgring 24hr champion Romain Dumas at the wheel. This is the fastest electric car ever made by VW. The existing ‘green hell’ EV record (set by the NIO EP9 in 2017) was beaten by a shocking 40.564 seconds, with a final time of 6:05.336 minutes. Even more impressive was the 206km/h average speed over the notorious 73-turn 20.8km long Nurburgring-Nordschleife.
The demands of this circuit on this EV monster was totally different, hence the battery management system and aerodynamic bodywork were changed (less down-force, more top speed) for VW’s somewhat local challenge on hands. This video follows the e-record and how the Volkswagen Motorsport and Bridgestone tyre teams worked closely in order to add another accolade to their EV flagship that is spending 2019 trying to set numerous new records.
The Volkswagen ID R electric race car is a freakin’ force to be reckoned as the ID R smashed the 20-year-old overall record at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and Volkswagen has seen fit to divulge some details about that record-setting run at the Nurburgring-Nordschleife.
(For the race specs geeks out there) Volkswagen said on Friday that the ID R consumed just about 24.7-kWh of battery power during its trip around the ‘Ring, about 55% of its 45-kWh maximum battery capacity. Volkswagen pointed out that this is equivalent to 25% of the energy a GT3-class race car requires to get around the 12.92-mile Nordschleife. Of the energy the ID R used in its record-breaking lap, 9.2% came through brake regeneration.
The ID R reached its top speed at the Fuchsrohre section of track, approximately 3.7 miles into the lap, when it peaked at 169.6 miles per hour. The lowest speed recorded was in the famed “carousel,” where the car dropped down to just 51.5 mph. Its average for the entire lap was a blistering 127.3 mph. Remember: This track has dozens of winding corners and curves over its length. To help sustain that pace, driver Romain Dumas activated the ID R’s drag reduction system 23 times (for the F1 fans), leaving it open for nearly a quarter of its time on the track.
Speaking about Dumas, he was subject to plenty of stress, and not just because it was on him to break the record set by the electric Neo EP9. The strongest deceleration on track produced a negative acceleration of 2.7 g. During a left-right turn combination in the Kallenhard section, Dumas experienced a peak of 3.49 g. No wonder the world’s best racing drivers have such terrifyingly thick necks — all that muscle is needed to manage the additional weight of a driver’s head during such maneuvers.
Conclusion
The result was a lap time of 6:05.336, which is wildly impressive. But then again, the ID R needs to be impressive; it’s Volkswagen’s way of letting everyone all know that our electrified future will be buzzing by breaking records. Now this puts a big smug smile on all electric car lovers.
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