Volkswagen developing electric racer for Pikes Peak 2018
19 October 2017
After an absence from the event of more than 30 years, Volkswagen is developing an all-electric race car for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on 24 June 2018. The all-wheel-drive prototype’s goal is to set a new record for electric cars at the finish line, 14,000 feet above sea level.
The vehicle is being developed by Volkswagen Motorsport in close cooperation with Technical Development in Wolfsburg. The new motorsport project is part of Volkswagen’s process of transforming itself into the leading producer of electric vehicles. By 2025, the Volkswagen brand will offer 23 all-electric models.
The Pikes Peak hill climb is one of the world’s most renowned car races. It poses an enormous challenge and is therefore perfectly suited to proving the capabilities of upcoming technologies. Our electric race car will be equipped with innovative battery and drive technology. The extreme stress test posed by Pikes Peak will give us important feedback that will benefit future development, and it will showcase our products and their technologies
—Dr Frank Welsch, Member of the Board responsible for Development
The race on Pikes Peak is a new beginning for us. We are developing an all-electric race vehicle for the first time. The project is also an important milestone in our new motorsport orientation. Our team is literally electrified about taking on this incredible challenge.
—Sven Smeets, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
Volkswagen Motorsport last participated in the Pikes Peak mountain race in 1987 with a twin-engined Golf which barely missed finishing.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been run since 1916 in the Rocky Mountains near Colorado Springs. The race course is 12.4 miles long, and it climbs 4,700 feet to the summit at just over 14,000 feet above sea level. The current record in the class of electric prototypes is 8 minutes 57.118 seconds, set by Rhys Millen in 2016 in the eO PP03.
The eO PP03 features six YASA-400 electric motors with eO controllers delivering peak power of 1020 kW and peak torque of 2160 N·m, with power coming from a 50 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with BMS.
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