
The purpose of the I.D. R Pikes Peak is to showcase modern, all-wheel-drive electric powertrains, as well as Volkswagen’s aerodynamic expertise ahead of the market launch of the I.D. lineup of battery-electric passenger vehicles. The 12.4-mile “Race to the Clouds,” held in the Rocky Mountains near Colorado Springs, has been around since 1916; the route starts just above the 9,000-foot mark and continues up to the summit at 14,115 feet.
Volkswagen Automotive Group certainly has some history to look back on at Pikes Peak: in 1985, Audi won with its Quattro technology with Michele Mouton behind the wheel of the Audi Sport Quattro S1, paving the way for subsequent wins by Bobby Unser in 1986 and Walter Rohrl in 1987.
The VW I.D. R Pikes Peak race car will make the dash up the mountain in June of this year.
We’ll see the first I.D. cars on the market in 2019, and the automaker plans to offer more than 20 electric models worldwide by 2025.
“Pikes Peak is without question the most iconic hillclimb in the world,” said Jürgen Stackmann, VW’s sales boss. “The I.D. R project represents a fantastic opportunity for Volkswagen to change the conversation about e-mobility, both emotionally and from a sporting perspective.