We've seen clips of it hurtling around the hillclimb course in practice with the intent being to make history, but the I.D. R all-electric time attack car purpose built by Volkswagen has obliterated the Pikes Peak record by a full 15 seconds. The car has ascended the 14,000-feet hillclimb route in 7:57.148, eclipsing the previous record of 8:13.878 set by Sebastien Loeb in the Peugeot 208 T16 back in 2013.

Romain Dumas was the man behind the wheel for the obliteration of Loeb's record Romain Dumas was the man behind the wheel for the obliteration of Loeb's record

The EV hyper racer uses two electric motors (one on each axle) powered by a 43kWh battery pack, making the I.D. R 680hp of all-wheel drive insanity. It's capable of 0-60mph in just 2.25 seconds, making it quicker than virtually any car powered by internal combustion. And using 479lb ft of instantaneous torque to shift just 1100kg of mass, it's easy to see where such a stat comes from.

Like most Pikes Peak racers, it needed a serious amount of downforce to keep its cornering speeds high, hence the humungous rear wing bolted to the car. VW says that the car creates more downforce than the weight of the car, putting the I.D. R up there with F1 machinery and the most hyper of hypercars like the Brabham BT62.

Especially at altitude, having a serious aero package is necessary due to the lack of air density which can reduce the effect of aerodynamic parts on the car.

The altitude is a factor that will have helped VW to this sensational record however; being electric, it doesn't have to contend with power decreasing as you get higher up the hillclimb, unlike the internal combustion competitors in the field.

Lap records using all-electric power or at least electrical assistance seem to be the norm these days, seeing as the road car Nurburgring king is technically the NIO EP9 EV supercar. And with Porsche dominating the Spa Franchorchamps all-time record with the 919 Evo and with an eye on the Nordschleife all-time record too, it seems that electric motors are becoming the go-to tech for out-and-out performance.