Volkswagen entering Pikes Peak after 30+ years with EV, Romain Dumas at wheel
01 February 2018
Volkswagen is entering the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2018 in June with a fully electric racing car, with World Endurance champion Romain Dumas at the wheel. Dumas has already won the Challenge three times. Volkswagen and Dumas hope to set a new track record for electric racing cars. Volkswagen is returning to Pikes Peak after more than 30 years.
Dumas has also driven hybrid prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC); Dumas secured the world title in this high-tech racing series in 2016 as a Porsche works driver.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a big challenge, because every driver only has one attempt. But I have real faith in Volkswagen Motorsport. The team is highly motivated and has already shown on many occasions that it is capable of achieving success right away on unfamiliar terrain.
—Romain Dumas
Volkswagen is entering the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a completely newly developed electric prototype.
The regulations grant a high level of technical freedom in this class.
There is one big advantage of having an electric car in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb: the power remains constant over the entire 20-kilometer route. By contrast, vehicles fitted with combustion engines lose a significant amount of power in the thin mountain air. I had to live with that in my previous appearances here. I am really looking forward to being able to drive from the start at 2,862 meters to the finishing line at full power for the first time.
—Romain Dumas
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