Jonny Cocker set the time to beat for electric cars with a time of 47.34 seconds behind the wheel of a Lola-Drayson B12 69/EV in 2013. The all-time record, meanwhile, belongs to ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld, who crushed the 1.86-kilometer (1.2-mile) track in 41.6 seconds in a McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 Formula 1 car in 1999.

There's less margin for error this time around compared with Pikes Peak, which is a 12.4-mile course. But if there's a driver who can get the most out of the I.D. R, it's Romain Dumas, who took the wheel for that record-setting Pikes Peak run and will get the chance to break the Goodwood Hillclimb record. The Goodwood festival marks the competitive debut of VW's car in Europe, while it will also host the European debut of Tesla's Model 3.