Volkswagen ID.R Electric Race Car Smashes Nürburgring Record With 6:05.336 Lap
With outrageous aero and a Le Mans winner at the wheel, the only question was when the EV record would fall to the mighty ID.R.
Volkswagen announced back in January that it would modify its record-holding electric prototype, the ID.R, in a bid for the electric lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Monday, Volkswagen Motorsport announced via Twitter that its bid was successful. The ID.R and its driver Romain Dumas now hold the electric lap record at the Nürburgring, with an official lap time of 6:05.336.
Dumas's lap averaged just over 205 kph (127 mph), making it the second-fastest in the Nürburgring's history. This time beats even Stefan Bellof's famous 6:11, set in 1983 behind the wheel of a Porsche 956, though it still falls short of Timo Bernhard's all-time record of 5:19, chalked up late last year in the Porsche 919 Evo. Likewise, it means that the Volkswagen ID.R and Dumas along with it hold three electric course records at renowned international racing venues, including the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Goodwood Hill Climb, and now the Nürburgring. Said PPIHC record is also the mountain's overall record, knocking out the former record-holding Peugeot 208 T16 by 16 seconds.
Volkswagen and Dumas claimed the record from Chinese electric carmaker Nio, whose EP9 supercar laid down a 6:45.9 more than two years back. Holding on to a 'Ring record for more than two years during a period where the road car lap record was broken multiple times is a mighty feat for a startup, but as quick as the Nio EP9 was, it as a road car had nothing on the purpose-built Volkswagen ID.R.
Onboard footage of the record lap is likely coming to Volkswagen Motorsport's YouTube channel in the near future. Expect some Scheiße nearing the level of the overall record holder, and that eerie electric soundtrack along with it.
