Volkswagen ID.R electric racer gets fresh look ahead of China record attempt

Volkswagen has graced its ID.R electric race car prototype with a new look ahead of its next record attempt — this time heading to the Far East.

The EV will take on the Tianmen Mountain in China, racing up the 6.2-mile Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road to ‘Heaven’s Gate’. Consisting of 99 hairpins and a series of short straight-line sprints, it’s widely considered to be one of the most demanding mountain roads.

Volkswagen’s goal is to set a new record time along the stretch for any car and not just electric vehicles. Though there is no official timing board, Land Rover lays claim to the fastest known time up the road with its Range Rover Sport SVR, which completed a run of the mountain pass in nine minutes and 51 seconds.

For the attempt, the ID.R will sport a new red livery — a change from its usual blue colours — which is the national colour of China.

Stephan Wöllenstein, Volkswagen China chief executive, said: “I think we have come up with a spectacular livery for the ID.R for its ‘China Challenge’ in September. The ID.R’s records have allowed us at Volkswagen to demonstrate our passion for e-mobility and its potential in a diverse range of conditions. The ID.R is the first member of the ID. family to take to the roads of China.”

Should the ID.R be successful, it will be yet another record in the electric racer’s vast arsenal. It set the quickest time ever recorded at the Goodwood hill climb at this year’s Festival of Speed with a 39.9-second time, while also recording a lap at the gruelling Nurburgring Nordschleife in six minutes and 5.3 seconds. As a result of the latter, it’s the fastest EV around the 12.3-mile ‘Green Hell’.