Volkswagen I.D. R smashes EV Nurburgring lap record

Volkswagen has accomplished its aim of setting a new pure-electric lap record around the Nurburgring Nordschleife with its Volkswagen I.D. R race car

The German car-maker lapped the fearsome 20.8km-long track in an incredible 6:05.336 minutes, it was confirmed overnight.

Behind the wheel, Romain Dumas once again unleashed the battery-powered race car along the tortuous track to beat the original time of 6 minutes and 45.90 seconds that was set by the Nio EP8 two years ago.

Setting the record lap on the final day of testing, Dumas' time was a stunning six seconds quicker than the 6 min 11.13sec time set by Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956 race car back in 1983 – a record that stood for 35 years until Timo Bernhard beat it last year with the Porsche 919 Evo Le Mans prototype that astonished the motorsport community when it set a lap of 5 min 19.54sec.

The biggest challenge facing engineers on Dumas has been adapting the I.D. R to the bumpy uneven surface of the former F1 track.

Featuring completely re-thought aerodynamics that now includes an F1-inspired rear wing that incorporates a nifty drag reduction system (DRS), the I.D. R can balance downforce for the tight and twisting corners with reducing drag by as much as 20 per cent on the long straight.

Engineers have also made changes to managing the electrical current deployed by the twin-lithium-ion battery packs that can deploy more of its energy for quicker acceleration.

Producing a total of 500kW and 650Nm of torque, the all-wheel drive pure-electric racer can still hit 100km/h in just 2.25 seconds with the I.D. R topping out at 270km/h on the long straights.

Last year the I.D. R and its familiar driver set the outright hill record at the 20km Pikes Peak 'Race to the Clouds', Dumas summed up his latest challenge at the Green Hell as "very exciting", but went on to say:

"We worked hard on the car after each run, and improved the balance on each lap. I was getting quicker every time, and with each lap you had to adapt your style. During the lap you have to keep your confidence so you can keep pushing even more.

“Pikes Peak was one of the biggest achievements of my career, and what is impressive is how we improved the car in one year. One year ago in Pikes Peak everyone was surprised by the time we achieved, but now we’re playing with the limiter, and the engineers are working harder and harder to get to that limit.”

Making life difficult for Volkswagen's attempt, engineers struggled with the I.D. R's relatively limited top speed. While Dumas relaxed and enjoyed the scenery on the long straights, the Porsche 919 Evo that set the outright time was topping out at an incredible 369km/h.