VW ID R electric race car smashes Nürburgring record with 6:05 lap
That's a full 40 seconds faster than the Nio EP9.
Volkswagen came to the Nürburgring Nordschleife in an attempt to capture the electric-car lap record, and it not only achieved that, it smashed the previous time.
Volkswagen on Monday announced that its ID R electric race car has picked up a Nürburgring lap record with a 6:05.336 run around the 'Ring. That's about 40 seconds faster than the previous lap record, set by the also-impressive Nio EP9 electric hypercar. The ID R is no stranger to success, having earned a similar record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb and securing the overall record at Pikes Peak, both of which took place last year.
VW modified the ID R from its previous iterations to handle the specific kinds of abuse doled out by this 13-mile, 73-turn beast. It sported new aerodynamics, and the electronics for charging were adjusted because it didn't need to capture as much energy via brake regeneration. The automaker claimed the ID R in the Nürburgring spec had 33 percent less drag than it did at Pikes Peak, yet it still produced nearly twice the downforce of a modern Formula 1 car.
The ID R is a true performer. This sub-2,425-pound machine sports a pair of electric motors putting out 670 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. It's believed to hit 62 miles per hour in just 2.25 seconds, and at full tilt it'll top out at 168 mph. VW has not published video of the lap just yet, but it won't be too long before a clip makes its way to YouTube.
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