VW takes the covers off its Pikes Peak challenger

VW has revealed its first fully electric race car, with which it hopes will conquer the electric record at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

The I.D. R, with its name stemming from Volkswagen's electric I.D. line of cars, will take on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb event on the 24th of June in Colorado, USA. 

The I.D R will be aiming to beat Rhys Millen's 2016 electric car record of 8:57.118 minutes set in a eO PP100, pictured below.

This will not be VW’s first trip to Pikes Peak, back in the 80’s it entered a twin-engined Golf, driven Jochi Kleint. The machine finished third in 1985 and fourth in 1986. The twin-engines came from the Golf GTI and were 16-valve, 1.8-liter four-cylinders, each with a turbocharger. The Golf had a mechanical throttle system that gave the driver the ability to select rear, front or four-wheel drive. The combined output of the twin-engines was 486kW, which gave it a 0-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds.

The I.D. R Pikes Peak will again feature two engines, but this time both electric motors backed by Lithium-ion batteries, similar to most production EVs.

According to VW, 20 per cent of the electric energy required will be generated from the I.D R's regenerative braking technology.

The next step for VW is to perform a series of tests to get the driver of the I.D. R,  Romain Dumas, as much time as possible behind the wheel before the team heads to the USA.

Can VW take out the electric record at this years event, or will they go even further and take out the overall record set by Sebastien Loeb? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.