Success factors for the I.D. R Pikes Peak

Volkswagen Motorsport wasn't able to complete hundreds of laps during the development of the I.D. R Pikes Peak, like Formula 1 teams are allowed to do on certain racetracks, for example.

Before driver Romain Dumas reached the 4,302m summit in a new record time, he wasn't even able to complete one full test run of the actual track with Volkswagen's first all-electric powered racing car.

The computer was then used in multiple areas. "We relied heavily on computer simulations in particular in the initial phase of development of the I.D. R Pikes Peak," explained Dr. Benjamin Ahrenholz, Head of Calculation/Simulation at Volkswagen Motorsport.

"We used simulation programmes to calculate the components of the I.D. R Pikes Peak facing heavy structural wear and tear, for example, the chassis, monocoque, rear subframe and rear wing," said Ahrenholz.

The aim of the computer-aided engineering was always the same. A component should be as light as possible, but easily master the pressures that occur during the race. Relevant simulations were performed using the finite element method, during which the extremely complex structure of the components of the racing car was split up into a multitude of small components with predictable behaviour - the finite elements.