VW ID R takes all-time Goodwood hillclimb record - with video

Volkswagen has smashed the outright hillclimb record at Goodwood Festival of Speed with the 671bhp ID R electric racer. 

Driver Romain Dumas initially took the record on the second day of the event, setting a time of 41.18 seconds in a practice session, before going even faster a day later with a 39.90 in the timed shootout.

All the news from the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The previous record for the Sussex course had stood since 1999, when Heidfeld set a time of 41.18 seconds at the wheel of  McLaren MP4/13 F1 car - a pace so far ahead of anything else that Formula One cars were subsequently banned from making timed runs.

Volkswagen adapted the ID R specifically for Goodwood with the smallest battery yet fitted to the car, in order to reduce weight to below 1000kg including driver. "This is as light as the car will ever get," technical director François-Xavier Demaison said. "We have no need to conserve energy here, power is always at a maximum."

With one day of the 2019 Festival remaining, there's every chance Dumas will get another chance to go even faster, although a chance of rain may prevent further improvements. He joked after breaking the record for a second time, saying "if we stay one more week, it’s possible we could find a few more tenths."

The ID R came to Goodwood fresh from its record breaking efforts at the Nurburgring, where it set the fastest lap ever for an electric car with a time of 6min 05.336secs.

The 671bhp ID R broke the outright record at the Pikes Peak hill climb last year, but needed heavy modifications to cope with the 12.9-mile Nordschleife's long straights and fast corners.

They included a new F1-inspired aerodynamics package, which added a new rear wing, redesigned front splitter and drag reduction system (DRS) which, when deployed, reduces downforce by as much as 20%. Changes to the energy management system help the car reach its top speed faster, while using less energy from its twin lithium-ion battery packs.

Driver Dumas, who has won the Nurburgring 24-hour race four times dethroned the Nio EP9 electric hypercar by more than 40 seconds. The EP9 set the previous record for fastest EV around the 'Ring in 2017 with a time of 6:45.90.