I.D. R first electric car to win the FoS Shootout
Having shattered the electric car record on Saturday, Volkswagen's Pikes Peak winner proved unstoppable on Sunday
Having smashed the all-time record at Pikes Peak last month, the I.D. R was expected to be among the quickest runners at the 2018 Festival of Speed - and it hasn't let the side down. On Saturday, with Roman Dumas again driving, it whined its way to a 43.05 secs time over the famed 1.1-mile course, shattering the previous record for electric cars.
The fact that it is only 1.45 secs behind the best-ever effort registered by Nick Heidfeld in 1999 driving a McLaren MP4/13, just goes to show how monumentally fast Volkswagen's custom-built hill climber really is. On the official list of Sunday Shootout winners, only Graeme Wight, Jr has gone quicker against the clock - and that was in a similarly specialised machine (the Hill Climb Championship-winning Gould GR51).
And that was practice. On Sunday the I.D. R and Dumas repeated the feat in the final shootout, managing a 43.86 secs run to make it the first electric car to win the event outright. In a sign of the times, it was an electric car in second place, too - the remarkable NIO EP9 with Peter Dumbreck driving, which had briefly held the zero-emission record itself with a 44.45sec time on Saturday (followed by a 44.32 on Sunday). Hard cheese in one sense - but still reportedly the fastest time ever set by a road car on slicks at the Festival of Speed.
Shame we didn’t see times from some of the fastest cars at Goodwood though, the 919 Evo, 2016 Mercedes F1 and McLaren Senna would all have been well worth watching flat out up the hill.
When we get lighter energy storage (whether that's a traditional battery or a super-capacitor, or otherwise), then we'll see improvements on a pretty big scale. Current EV batteries are quite heavy; imagine what that same car will do when you strip out crap loads of weight. They already match or beat competitors in a straight line (look at Tesla vs just about everything).
As for the sound? Meh. I think that's the equivalent of a whining snob throwing their toys out of the pram. If that's your thing, fill your boots. I'll just grab the popcorn and watch for s
ts and giggles.As a spectator, I would rather enjoy the feel, sound and sight of a car with a screaming engine "plodding" up the track compared to these electric bullets that are out of sight quicker without leaving any imprint on your senses.
Ruthlessly fast, yes BUT numb and emotionless to spectate..... absolutely!
Compare a 1990 - early 2000s F1 GP with a formula electric race, I have been to both. I remember 1 as a vivid experience and have very little lasting memories of the faster electric cars whining around a track.
The Siemens autonomous Mustang didn't inspire confidence either with the way it was swerving all over the road and needing frequent override corrections from the driver.
The Roborace guys are probably right that introducing a competition series for autonomous control will improve the technology, but it obviously has a long way to go at present.
As said EVs are in their infancy and we've really seen nothing yet of their potential.
As said EVs are in their infancy and we've really seen nothing yet of their potential.
You aren't comparing bikes to cars too, are you?
You aren't comparing bikes to cars too, are you?
ks. You aren't comparing bikes to cars too, are you?
ks. ks so I'll let you get on with educating us.....go ahead.(Pikes Peak ave speed ~150kph, 919 @ N'ring = 230 Kph, FoS = 145kph)
Either way, i think it'll be very close
ETA: Apparently the 919 will do a timed run today!
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