By now you’ve no doubt heard that Volkswagen Group had quite the time at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. A freaking near-stock Bentely Bentayga driven by Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen smashed the SUV record by nearly two minutes, turning in a time of 10:49.9. The luxo-cruiser’s front seats were swapped out for racing units so Millen couldn’t get a massage en-route to the top, but the awesome in-car footage shows the big SUV packs a serious performance punch.

More on VW's records at Pikes Peak:

Now, VW has released footage of its other record-breaking run – the one heard around the world from the company’s purpose-built I.D. R EV that not only took the electric car record, but smashed the overall record set by Sebastian Loeb back in 2013. We’d love to say this is a mind-blowing in-car perspective because let’s face it – blitzing up a 12.4-mile mountainside road with 156 corners and 4,700 feet of elevation change in less than eight minutes would make for amazing footage. For reasons we can’t really explain, the only thing VW seems to have is this helicopter footage that, if we’re honest, is rather boring.

We do see the run from start to finish, but with an abundance of trees at lower altitude we’re treated to nice shots of the mountain but very little racing action for the first few minutes. It also doesn’t help that the car’s electric whine has been edited into the video, which admittedly could be a matter of taste on our part. There’s no denying the power and performance of electric cars, but the sound isn’t quite as dramatic as, say, a screaming five-cylinder overboosted Audi. Paired with point-blank in-car footage the electric whistle could be exciting. From a helicopter, well, it just isn’t.

Yes, we’re nitpicking. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for VW, especially considering the project began less than a year ago. The I.D. R’s twin electric motors produce 671 brake horsepower and turn all four wheels, and clearly the car has the ability to use every ounce of that power. Major credit also goes to driver Romain Dumas for corralling all that power for the record run, especially since he mentioned damp sections of the course in a post-race interview. In fact, Dumas believes he could've gone even faster with better conditions.

Should there be another attempt next year, we hope VW at least mounts up a couple in-car cameras to capture the thrill of this incredible feat.

Source: Volkswagen

Gallery: Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak 2018 Romain Dumas qualifying

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VOLKSWAGEN SHARES FOOTAGE FROM I.D. R PIKES PEAK RECORD-BREAKING RUN

 

Herndon, VA — On June 24th, Volkswagen made motorsports history at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Today, video of the entire record-breaking run is available for the first time. The 671 horsepower, fully-electric I.D. R Pikes Peak, driven by Romain Dumas, outran cars powered by conventional drivetrain technology and, with a time of 7:57.148 minutes, not only smashed the previous electric car record, but bested the all-time record set in 2013 by Sébastien Loeb – by fully 16 seconds.

Only 250 days have passed since Volkswagen’s announcement of the ambitious I.D. R Pikes Peak project and the record-breaking run to the sky. Unique demands of drivetrain technology, battery life and aerodynamic design made this an extremely challenging goal for the team of engineers and designers to achieve. The car’s success adds to the significance of the brand’s forthcoming electromobility push that will usher in a range of fully-electric production vehicles starting in the year 2020.

Please find footage of Dumas’ record-breaking, sub eight-minute run below,: