Ushering in a new era of Volkswagen motorsport, the brand unveiled its fully electric supercar - the I.D. R Pikes Peak - in Ales, France. The supercar will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, U.S.A, on 24^th June, seeking to beat the existing electric car record of 8:57.118 minutes in the annual 'Race to the Clouds'.

The top goal when developing the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak was not on maximum performance, as is usually the case with racing cars, but rather to find the ideal balance between energy capacity and weight. Volkswagen's prototype for Pikes Peak justifiably bears two quality seals in its name. The 'R', which is synonymous with performance cars, and the 'I.D.', the symbol of Volkswagen's smart E-technology.

I.D. R Pikes Peak weighs less than 1,134kg and produces 671bhp and 649Nm of torque, giving it a 0-100km/h time of 2.25 seconds - faster than even Formula One and Formula E cars. 

The I.D. R Pikes Peak features two electric engines. Lithium-ion batteries are used as the energy storage system, similar to production EVs, as their power density is the crucial factor for the system when producing high voltage. Roughly 20 percent of the electric energy required is generated during the drive, so the key here is energy recovery. When braking, the electric engines act as generators, converting some of the braking energy into electricity and feeding this into the battery.

World-class driver and defending Pikes Peak champion, Romain Dumas, will be at the wheel of the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak for the attempt to break the existing record for electric cars.