Volkswagen built its ID.R with the intention of showing what the heads in its electric drive division are capable of, and it only took a few months after its unveiling for the zero-emission race car to claim a record at the iconic Pikes Peak. The twin-motor electric racer has now built on this with yet another momentous showing, this time at Nürburgring-Nordschleife, where it has broken the lap record for electric vehicles by a whopping 40.564 seconds.

It was only two years ago that we were hailing the record-setting efforts of Peter Dumbreck in NIO's all-electric EP9 supercar, who lapped the Nurburgring in a blistering 6:45.900. But he would have been left well in the wake of Romain Dumas this week, who crossed the finish line in 6:05.336 with an average speed of 206.96 km/h (128 mph).

Dumas was also at the wheel when the ID.R obliterated the all-time Pikes Peak record in 2018, and again when it claimed the electric car record for the 1.86-km (1.1-mi) Goodwood Hill Climb a month later. But the 507-kW ID.R underwent some refinements ahead of its latest outing, with the team making some speed-oriented changes for its record-setting effort at Nürburgring.

Volkswagen built its ID.R with the intention of showing what the heads in its electric drive division are capable of Volkswagen

"For this evolved version of the ID.R, the aerodynamic configuration was more strongly adapted to the highest possible speed, rather than maximum downforce," explains François-Xavier Demaison, Technical Director. "With extensive test laps in the simulator and on the race track, we adapted the ID.R to the unique conditions of the Nordschleife, focussing mainly on chassis tuning, energy management and optimal choice of tires for the record attempt."

You can check out the ID.R's hot lap in the view below.

Source: Volkswagen