Volkswagen plans to debut their tech-heavy I.D. R via livestream this Sunday, April 22, at 3:00 PM GMT / 8:00 AM EST time. The Buck Rogers styling is appealing in its own right, but more importantly, this car will be the first Volkswagen-badged machine sent up Pikes Peak by the German giant in 31 years.

Sure, the Volkswagen Group dominated the event in the mid-eighties with Rohrl, Mouton, and the Audi S1, but the last time a Volkswagen contested the event, it didn’t end so well. In 1987, Jochi Kleint’s twin-engined, 652-horsepower Golf was within spitting distance of crossing the finish line first before retiring with suspension failure.

In recent years, the electric vehicles at Pikes Peak have been driven by privateers and smaller groups—Faraday Future, Rhys Millen, and Monster Kojima have competed in their own homebrewed creations—but this will mark the first attempt by a major manufacturer to take an electric vehicle to the top of the Coloradoan peak. Additionally, since Volkswagen’s WRC efforts were recently axed in the wake of the Dieselgate scandal, this car might help usher the company back into the public’s good graces.

Of course, there’s more than motorsport repentance at play here. The more practical aim behind this idealized hypercar is to announce Volkswagen’s new lineup. With the unveiling of the I.D. range just around the corner, this space-age prototype is meant to showcase their new series of electrically-powered vehicles, their all-wheel drive layouts, and their sporting potential.

Though that might seem like just a marketing ploy, the I.D. powerplant is well-suited to the real-world demands of Pikes Peak. Not only will four-wheel drive help the car accelerate neatly out of the 156 turns dotting the course, but the powerplant won’t fade as it climbs to the 14, 114-foot summit. The thin air there limits all but the heavily-turbocharged engines, and even those begin to lose steam towards the top. Fortunately, an electric powerplant doesn’t rely on air density quite like an internal combustion does.

“We want to be at the forefront of electro-mobility with Volkswagen and the ID family,” VW Research and Development boss Frank Welsch said in a statement. “Competing in the most famous hill climb in the world with the ID R Pikes Peak is a valuable test for the general development of electric cars.”

With LMP1-style bodywork, four-wheel drive, a powerplant that won’t wither as it climbs the 12.4-mile course, and the talented Romain Dumas at the wheel, the I.D. R stands a chance of beating Rhys Millen’s EV record of 8:57.118 — a record set in a Drive eO PP100 boasting 1,596 horsepower. Though that’s a tall order, the last time a major manufacturer took this event seriously and brought in the big guns, the rest of the field was left wondering what happened.

To view this unveiling live, follow the World Premiere of the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak being held on April 22 at 5.00 p.m. CEST (3.00 p.m. GMT) LIVE via http://volkswagen.gomexlive.com/vw_live_1/.

You can also watch this event via the Volkswagen’s social media channels:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJxMw5IralIBLLr0RYVrikw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VolkswagenMotorsport

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vwpress_en