2018 was something of a banner year when it came to hybrids and electric cars showing their stuff. At the end of June, Porsche—on something of a farewell tour after cancelling its Le Mans program the year before— destroyed the lap record at the almighty Nürburgring Nordschleife with its 919 Hybrid. For 35 years, the fastest lap of this 12.9-mile (20.8km) ribbon of road in Germany's Eifel Mountains stood at 6:11.13, set by Stefan Bellof and a Porsche 956 during qualifying for the Group C race held there in 1983. But in 2018, Porsche returned to one of the most fearsome racetracks in the world intent on beating Bellof's time, and it did. With Timo Bernhard behind the wheel, the 919 Evo lopped almost a minute off, completing a circuit in 5:19.55.

Five days earlier, Porsche's corporate sibling, Volkswagen, did something similar, this time with a battery electric car. At the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Romain Dumas set a new world record for the fastest time up the mountain. Here, too, a record many thought unbreakable—Sébastien Loeb's 2013 time of 8:13.878—was eclipsed when Dumas completed the 12.4-mile (19.9km) race to the clouds in 7:57.148.

I was on the mountain that day and asked more than one VW representative whether they'd consider taking their new electric monster to the Nordschleife. The similarities were too obvious not to ask—similar distances, similar terrifying reputations, and so on. At the time, the question was quickly dismissed, and VW's engineers would point out that despite the apparent similarities, there were important differences, too.

The Pikes Peak course starts at 9,000 feet (2,862m) and climbs to 14,000 feet (4,300m), and that altitude gives an electric car a real advantage over one that requires air to breathe. Even though the Nordschleife has plenty of ups and downs, the total elevation change across all 12.8 miles is a mere 1,000 feet (300m), with the highest point just 2,066 feet (620m) above sea level. So a car with an internal combustion engine—even if it's a hybrid like the 919 Evo—has little problem filling its lungs.

And when the 919 Evo's electric motor and turbocharged V4 are working together, it's significantly more powerful than the I.D. R: 1,160hp (910kW) vs 670hp (500kW). Plus, the Porsche was designed to reach a top speed well in excess of 200mph (321km/h); at Pikes Peak, the I.D. R's Vmax was much slower. But then in Colorado, the electric VW was running massive levels of downforce, something that won't be quite as important in Germany. Consequently, VW will focus on optimizing the aerodynamics of the car for this new record attempt.

As with Pikes Peak, VW is being circumspect when it comes to messaging. Even as Dumas set off on his run up the mountain, VW would only say its goal was to beat the existing electric record, not the fastest overall time. And the company is saying the same thing again: its target is (allegedly) to beat 6:45.90, set by Peter Dumbreck and the Nio EP9 in 2017.

Once again, Romain Dumas will be responsible for driving the I.D. R. He's no stranger to the track, with four wins in the annual 24-hour race among his list of victories. "The thought of driving the ID. R on the Nordschleife is already enough to give me goosebumps. I know the track very well, but the I.D. R will be a completely different challenge, with its extreme acceleration and huge cornering speeds," says Dumas. "I can hardly wait for the first tests. Breaking the existing electric record will certainly not be a stroll in the park."