It’s great to go out on top, and the Volkswagen ID. R did just that. After an impressive but short lifespan, the record-setting electric race car was retired along with the rest of the Volkswagen racing program. However, the influence of the Volkswagen ID. R will still be felt in the rest of Volkswagen’s ID. electric lineup.

The Volkswagen ID. R electric race car

The Volkswagen ID. R first appeared in 2018. The race car is powered by two electric motors, with one on each axle. Together they produce 507 kW, 680 hp, and 479 lb-ft of torque, says Green Car Congress. This electric race car can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.25 seconds, and it has a top speed of 263.1 mph.

The Volkswagen ID. R’s electric speed and power have enabled it to break and set several world records in different races worldwide. Two notable examples are its triumphs at Pikes Peak and Nürburgring. In June 2018, it set a track record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with 7:57.148 minutes. Meanwhile, tt set the electric record at the Nürburgring in June 2019, with a time of 6:05.336 minutes. This was faster than the previous record by 40.564 seconds, reports Volkswagen and the ID. R had an average speed of 204.96 km/h (127.36 mph).

In September 2019, the VW ID. R set another record, posting the fastest time going up the Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road in China, with 7:38.585 minutes, reports Top Gear. For all of these appearances, Romain Dumas was the record-setting driver.

The end of the ID. R and Volkswagen motorsports

At the end of 2020, Volkswagen announced that it would close its motorsport division and focus its resources on mass-market electric vehicles (EVs), reports VW ID. Talk. By 2025, Volkswagen plans to invest about $86 billion into developing electric technologies. This large investment makes it difficult for Volkswagen to continue funding its expensive racing program as well.

This decision affects the ID. R and customer racing programs but doesn’t affect the racing programs with Audi or Porsche that also exist under the Volkswagen Group umbrella. Additionally, despite being a fully electric car, the Volkswagen ID. R is being retired due to the entire VW racing division closing. However, lessons learned from VW’s electric race car will be found in other Volkswagen EVs, including the currently available Volkswagen ID.4.

Other Volkswagen ID. vehicles

The Volkswagen ID .line will still continue without the ID. R. While the ID. R electric race car will no longer be around, lessons learned from it, including information about a battery’s power density, will be used in future ID. models. For those wondering, the ID. signifiers of Volkswagen’s EV lineup stand for Intelligent Design and are followed by numbers to differentiate each model. This Volkswagen naming system has lower numbers used for smaller models and higher numbers used for larger models.

The Volkswagen ID.3 compact hatchback is available in Europe, and the Volkswagen ID.4 compact crossover is available in the U.S. Two smaller cars, the ID.1 and ID.2, are planned for Europe, says CarBuzz. The ID.5 will be a coupe version of the ID.4, but it isn’t scheduled to arrive in the U.S. The ID.6 will be a large crossover, but it’s unclear if it will be exclusive to China. With seven seats, it would be a great addition to the U.S. market. Additionally, the ID. Buzz microbus is currently a concept vehicle that is soon moving into production.

While the Volkswagen ID. R has been retired, its design has helped provide lessons on building performance electric vehicles, and its world records helped publicize the possibilities of EVs. It will live on in the ID. range of vehicles.