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Michael Taylor22 Jan 2019
NEWS

Volkswagen to attack Nürburgring EV record

Volkswagen turns from Pikes Peak to the Nürburgring for EV record attempt

Electric-vehicle technology seems to have gone from a distraction to a matter of pride at Volkswagen, with the German car-maker plotting to steal the EV lap record at the Nürburgring this summer.

Instead of using a purpose-built new EV, though, it will attack the 20.8km Nordschleife circuit with a slightly revised version of the ID R that smashed the Pikes Peak hillclimb record last year.

Unlike the classic American hillclimb, where its 7:57 time broke Sebastien Loeb’s Peugeot record, Volkswagen Motorsport doesn’t think it can take the outright record away from sister brand Porsche’s 919 Evo.

Instead, it will aim to take the EV ‘Ring record away from Chinese company (and Formula E competitor), Nio, whose EP9 cranked out a 6:45.9 in 2017, admitting the 5:19.55 outright record was beyond its reach.

The attack at the ‘Ring will be aimed at taking back the “German” record at the “German” track, but even more so to attach some EV credibility to Volkswagen’s ID electric-vehicle push with production cars, starting with the ID hatch in 2020. Volkswagen plans more than 20 fully electric cars by 2025.

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“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,” Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets announced.

“A lap record at the Nordschleife is a great accolade for any car, whether a race car or a production car.”

At the announcement of record attempt, Volkswagen insisted its ID R couldn’t hope to touch the lap time of the 919 Evo, Porsche’s converted and uprated Le Mans winning hybrid hypercar.

The problem, driver Romain Dumas admitted, was that it couldn’t hope to approach the 369km/h top speed of the Porsche, with the ID R limited to “a bit more” than its Pikes Peak 250km/h speed limiter.

While it has huge levels of downforce, Volkswagen Motorsport will rip much of the enormous rear wing profile off the electric supercar to help it in a straight line.

“We needed a lot more downforce at Pikes Peak because the corners are mostly slow and the air is thin at high altitude,” Dumas said.

“Also, there isn’t as much drag at altitude as there would be at the Nürburgring.

“But even with less downforce, we will be able to be flat out in corners where you would have to brake in a GT3 car. It will corner more like an LMP1 (Le Mans-style) car.”

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Nio went on to build 10 of its EP9s, with more than 1000kW of power and a 313km/h top speed, for customers at more than US$1.3 million each.

But the ID R’s challenge will be hamstrung by being purpose-built for a very different job, with an insider admitting that a higher top speed would demand a complete rework of the Pikes Peak record holder’s battery chemistry.

It was build to run 19.99km uphill, with a dizzying array of hairpin bends, in a sprint that starts at 2862 metres (higher than Australia’s biggest mountain) and ends at 4302 metres. By comparison, the Nordschleife’s 300 metres of altitude change should be a bit of a doddle.

The 1100kg racer is a lot less powerful than both the 919 Evo and the EP9, with just 500kW of total system power from its two electric motors.

“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,” Volkswagen Motorsport technical director, Francois-Xavier Demaison, said.

“If we go with that wing (from Pikes Peak) we will break it. There will be too much downforce because we are not at altitude and it will not be strong enough to withstand the downforce.

“Other than that it will need better brakes for sure and we will adjust the car a lot. It’s the most demanding challenge with the long straights, so we need to make up time everywhere else.

“We will test it intensely with a development program on various racetracks and simulators in the spring.”

With Briton Peter Dumbreck at the wheel, the EP9 managed an average speed of 185km/h, which Dumas admits will be a difficult thing to replicate on a car with a top speed of just above 250km/h.

“The thought of driving the ID R on the Nordschleife is already enough to give me goosebumps,” he said.

“I know the track very well (he has won the Nürburgring 24 Hour race four times) but the ID R will be a completely different challenge, with its extreme acceleration and huge cornering speeds.”

But that won’t be the only challenge for the ID R this summer, with Volkswagen determined to return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June for an attack on the hillclimb outright record.

Way back in 1999, Nick Heidfeld took his McLaren MP4/13 up the 1.86km track in 41.6 seconds, though Dumas managed 43.86 in the ID R last year before it broke its front electric motor.

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Written byMichael Taylor
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