VW ID R's record-setting Nurburgring run required just 24.7 kWh of battery
Volkswagen dishes some deets about its wild trip 'round the 'Ring.
The Volkswagen ID R electric race car is a freakin' force to be reckoned with. In July, the ID R smashed the 20-year-old overall record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and before that, it beat the previous EV record holder at the Nurburgring Nordschleife by about 40 seconds. Now, Volkswagen has seen fit to divulge some details about that record-setting run.
Volkswagen said on Friday that the ID R consumed just 24.7-kWh of battery power during its trip around the 'Ring, about 55% of its 45-kWh maximum battery capacity. The automaker 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 came 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 upon dozens of curves over its length. To help maintain that pace, driver Romain Dumas activated the ID R's drag reduction system (DRS for the race geeks out there) 23 times, leaving it open for nearly a quarter of its time on the track.
Speaking of Dumas, he was subject to plenty of stress, and not just because it was on him to break the record set by the electric Nio 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.
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 us all know that our electrified future will be far from the equivalent of a damp sponge. Having seen the ID R launch itself up the Goodwood hill in person, I can confirm that there are plenty of dramatics involved with this electric race car.
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