VW has shown its four-wheel drive, electric-powered prototype which is being designed by its motorsport division. The car is called the ID R Pikes Peak and will take on the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in June.
The car is fitted with modern-day electric drive systems and will be the tech demonstrators for its range of new electric-powered ID road cars. VW will start production at its Zwickau factory in Germany from the end of 2019.
“We want to be at the forefront of electro mobility with the ID family," said VW R&D boss, Frank Welsch. “Competing in the most famous hill climb in the world with the ID R Pikes Peak not only has symbolic meaning but is also a valuable test for the general development of electric cars.”
Welsch says the ID R Pikes Peak is equipped with “innovative drive and battery technology”. Volkswagen said it’s also the “first step in an intensification of the co-operation between Volkswagen R and Volkswagen Motorsport”.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is called the 'Race to the Clouds', and it is a 19.99km route near Colorado Springs in the US. It starts at a height of 2,800 metres above sea level, with the finishing point at 4,300 metres.
