- 09/04/2019
- 1 Min Read
- By: Evan Madore
7:38.5 To The Top: Volkswagen ID.R Sets The Benchmark In China
In the course of only about a year, the Volkswagen ID.R has been ticking lap records off a seemingly never-ending list all across the globe. Now nearly two months after Volkswagen Motorsport and Romain Dumas shattered the hillclimb record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, they've set the new hillclimb benchmark at China's "Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road."
The Volkswagen Motorsport team just accomplished yet another massive feat with their all-electric ID.R, climbing "Heaven's Gate" road in Mount Tianmen, China. With an exceedingly limited amount of time to test and tune after having just arrived from the logistic nightmare of transport, Romain Dumas set the pace of which all other record attempts will follow—7:38.585.
Volkswagen set the bar high for themselves with the ID.R and what it stands for as the motorsport ambassador for the range of all-electric cars in the ID. family. Of which, the ID.31 will be making its worldwide debut in a little over a week at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
“A new record on a truly spectacular road – Volkswagen and the ID.R have once again shown what the electromobility of the future is already capable of today,” said Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. “Not only has it proven that electric cars like the ID.R can break established records and set new benchmarks, but the ID.R also shows how emotive and exciting the mobility of the future is.”
"Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road" was one of the most challenging courses that Dumas and the ID.R have yet to take on. 99 hairpins, hard brake zones down from 145mph to nearly a dead stop, and dangerously narrow roads, Romain Dumas and the entire Volkswagen Motorsports team had extreme challenges to overcome with very little time to prepare.
"I will certainly remember this record run on Tianmen Mountain forever as my most spectacular outing. I am proud to have set a record with the electric Volkswagen ID.R in China," said Dumas. He added, "The little information and testing we had beforehand made it a huge challenge. The road is incredibly narrow and winding, but the drive was unbelievable fun with the electric power of the ID.R. The huge torque was a big advantage on the short straights, while the aerodynamics provided additional traction in the fast sections."
Will this be it for the record-setting attempts of the ID.R now that the rest of the ID. lineup is being unveiled? Or, will the Volkswagen Motorsport team continue to campaign the ID.R around the world, crushing every record there is? We can only hope for the latter.
