VW to return to Pikes Peak with an EV

It's just a render. Let's wait and see if the real thing looks even remotely like it.

There's still a good chance it will look pretty similar.

This was the teaser picture from last autumn.

These are the renders from yesterday.

It's due to start testing in France in the coming weeks, so would be odd to release something that will become drastically different this late on. The futuristic styling design matches VWs future ID branded cars, so it's safe to assume they'll keep that for marketing reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if it looks more or less as these recent shots, just perhaps with a little more detailed design work.

It's due to start testing in France in the coming weeks

Aaaalways the cynic.

Right.  So you think it will have a totally opaque screen running all the way round the cockpit so that the driver can't see out?  And that it will have no doors or any way for the driver to get in?

I have seen so many artists impressions of cars, buildings, bridges, ships, aircraft, trains etc over the years and they almost never look much like the real thing when it finally appears. Mainly because the artist can ignore physics and dynamics and make a pretty picture, but the poor engineer has to make the damned thing work.

Edited by BRG, 21 March 2018 - 19:40.

Right.  So you think it will have a totally opaque screen running all the way round the cockpit so that the driver can't see out?  And that it will have no doors or any way for the driver to get in?

 

I have seen so many artists impressions of cars, buildings, bridges, ships, aircraft, trains etc over the years and they almost never look much like the real thing when it finally appears. Mainly because the artist can ignore physics and dynamics and make a pretty picture, but the poor engineer has to make the damned thing work.

Well basically I expect it to look like the render but with a non-opaque windscreen, and some doors and any other little fasteners, access panels or little devices along with, presumably, a simple livery of some sort. So basically the detailed design work. 

From what we have seen so far and from the timelines of the project, do I expect a vehicle that looks nothing like those renders? No. No I do not. Because I am not a cynic. I hope for the best and merely dust myself off when I am wrong. Its great - you should try it. 

Shouldn't be hard to add doors or a door and have it look the same. Of course body panel seams, lower window tint and all that will be there too, but as it is in that picture I think is 90% of what we'll see, at least I hope so.

Roof+screen are probably flimsy and lift off. They even drew a seam on the roof.

Example:

Because I am not a cynic. I hope for the best and merely dust myself off when I am wrong. Its great - you should try it. 

I am sorry for you.  You  must be confronted with so many disappointments in life  when things don't turn out all peachy like you had hoped.

I, on the other hand, have lived a life full of wonderful surprises, when things turned out to be much better than I had expected.

I am sure that the VW EV will be fine in real life and will be great at the Peak, but I will not be disappointed when it turns out to look rather different to this glammed up, stylised image. 

I think it'll look mostly the same. The previous image was just a shadowy image showing the shape. This looks like a near finished design.

The front and rear wings are quite different from the silhouette shot to the coloured renders on the road. The front wing protrudes much more to the sides on the silhouette, and the rear wing is a completely different shape. Different models. 

The front and rear wings are quite different from the silhouette shot to the coloured renders on the road. The front wing protrudes much more to the sides on the silhouette, and the rear wing is a completely different shape. Different models. 

I know that, but the new render looks like a nearly finished model not just a blacked out silhouette shot. I like it and hope it remains the same.

well the renders do look great, so if the final car looks like that then it will be good.

Edited by Tsarwash, 23 March 2018 - 05:30.

Here she is in the flesh

e-racing365's article

http://e-racing365.c...kes-peak-entry/

"The I.D. R Pikes Peak can accelerate 0 to 62 mph in 2.25 seconds, faster than a Formula 1 or Formula E car, and has two electric motors producing 500 kW of power."

Reveal event video

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ZkKzVNNbzXKv

Those headlights are 

(ok so they're stickers this beauty but it's the design style VW will use on the ID range) 

Edited by Ben1445, 22 April 2018 - 18:20.

What a cool car.

Looks like they've incorporated most of the "unlimited" tricks 

Here she is in the flesh

I wish WEC LMP's would look like that! Bar the sheet metal rear wing support, that is one awesome looking race car.

Looks like a current spec Formula E steering wheel to me (?)

Edited by Ben1445, 22 April 2018 - 18:46.

I wish WEC LMP's would look like that! Bar the sheet metal rear wing support, that is one awesome looking race car.

Looks a bit crude in that area. But having the underside of the wing uninterrupted is proven to be massively beneficial (took a while.......).

Defo agree how that is how the WEC cars should look. The Peugeot 905, Mercs, Lolas, Porkers and Jags were just pure art.

The huge fin on the back of the cars now is just horrific.

Edited by TF110, 22 April 2018 - 19:28.

I also love the fact that they've gone for full blown ground effects.

That floor looks like it'd suck a golfball through a garden hose.

I also think that the Porsche run at Spa was a bit of testing for this concept.

Edited by maverick69, 22 April 2018 - 19:41.

Defo agree how that is how the WEC cars should look. The Peugeot 905, Mercs, Lolas, Porkers and Jags were just pure art.

Now you mention it, this car does remind me a little of the early version of the 905

The car looks good. Really aggressive too. Makes the record Porsche 919 look mundane even. Can't wait to see what this thing can do. I also agree that lmp1 should look like this. I said that from the renderings!

I also love the fact that they've gone for full blown ground effects.

 

That floor looks like it'd suck a golfball through a garden hose.

 

I also think that the Porsche run at Spa was a bit of testing for this concept.

Let's not forget that this car has been designed for one very specific purpose.  A short(ish) dash up a mountain where downforce is vital becuase of the many corners but high top speed is not a consideration as there is no Mulsanne or even Kemmelstraight on the Peak.  So comparison with LMPs is apples and oranges.  

Since the top is all-tarmac, the cars are looking less like GroupB rallycars and more like LMP cars. It's not bad or good, just different.

Let's not forget that this car has been designed for one very specific purpose.  A short(ish) dash up a mountain where downforce is vital becuase of the many corners but high top speed is not a consideration as there is no Mulsanne or even Kemmelstraight on the Peak.  So comparison with LMPs is apples and oranges.  

Considering it is also designed to take design cues from VW's (future) ID range it's slightly more to comparable to DPi than LMPs. 

But then it is also perfectly reasonable to want LMPs to look like DPi cars... 

The car looks good. Really aggressive too. Makes the record Porsche 919 look mundane even. Can't wait to see what this thing can do. I also agree that lmp1 should look like this. I said that from the renderings!

Let's not forget that this car has been designed for one very specific purpose.  A short(ish) dash up a mountain where downforce is vital becuase of the many corners but high top speed is not a consideration as there is no Mulsanne or even Kemmelstraight on the Peak.  So comparison with LMPs is apples and oranges.

Has anyone seen a battery spec for this car?

9 minutes at 500kW with 70% full throttle is 9min/60min/h*500kW*0.7 = 52.5kWh. According to the eracing link 20% will come from regeneration during braking, so ~42kWh should be the minimum usable battery size. I wonder if that "small" battery - compared to a Tesla -  is the better solution for this hillclimb where you have to lift the car up by 1500m.

I guess they went that small for weight. Still puts out a good amount of power and since regenerative braking adds some charge back to the battery, they went with a solution that wasn't 'too big'. You have to think about cooling too and all that which goes with bigger or more powerful battery packs.

I bet that car will absolutely spank the record (weather permitting).

Still not keen on full electrical power. Sounds like a Benny Hill milkfloat.

Then again - things will and must change.

One of my mates down the pub is sticking an electric motor in a Mazda RX8.

Then again - he'll probably get his money back in oil usage alone! And no tax!

One of my mates down the pub is sticking an electric motor in a Mazda RX8.

 

Then again - he'll probably get his money back in oil usage alone! And no tax!

They say there's a fine line between madness and genius. 

The car looks absolutely fantastic. Let's hope this attempt is successful, and commands plenty of positive press - something that VAG, motorsports and, well, the planet could probably do with! 

I bet that car will absolutely spank the record (weather permitting).

Still not keen on full electrical power. Sounds like a Benny Hill milkfloat.

Then again - things will and must change.

One of my mates down the pub is sticking an electric motor in a Mazda RX8.

Then again - he'll probably get his money back in oil usage alone! And no tax!

Looks good and interested to see how it goes, to be honest I find it a shame that there isn't really any sort of racing series catering to these sort of no-holds-barred machines that often run at Pikes Peak, especially in the modern climate of massive standardisation it would stick out like a sore thumb (in a good way).

I know, probably not sustainable etc. I can dream though.

Edited by Cornholio, 23 April 2018 - 14:16.

Looks good and interested to see how it goes, to be honest I find it a shame that there isn't really any sort of racing series catering to these sort of no-holds-barred machines that often run at Pikes Peak, especially in the modern climate of massive standardisation it would stick out like a sore thumb (in a good way).

 

I know, probably not sustainable etc. I can dream though.

A global "Can-Am" or F5000 would be good.

I know they're having a good go at it down under - but I'd defo take a weekend off and pay a few quid to see unlimited cars around Brands Hatch or Silverstone for example.

I remember Silverstone in 2007. Seeing those Lola T70's hammering it into bridge was mental. Sounded like the devil having a shart. Better than the F1 race TBH.

If building a <once unimaginable technology> was feasible it would’ve been done a long time ago.

Sorry, terrible fallacy of thought. It hasn't been done yet therefore it never will? I bet people like you were shouting on the sidelines at the Wright brothers maiden flight saying "da Vinci couldn't do it, neither can you!".

Current battery technology IS good enough for regular transport. It is good enough to beat any IC over a short time/distance. An F1 car probably can't be beaten by an EV over a GP distance yet but it is feasible, it'll only take a couple fold increase in energy density to do so. Batteries that can do this have been hypothesized already just not monetized therefore havnt reached production.

It's a when rather than if question, of that much I am certain .

Nuclear fusion has not just been hypothesized but proven, yet I don't imagine I will see a fusion reactor powering anything of use in my lifetime. I don't expect batteries to go significantly further than they are now for quite some time either. Once you discover a new method for something, then you can improve rapidly. Once you reach the limits of that method and start to look for a new one, it can come quickly or it might be very very slow in coming.

Edited by Vielleicht, 23 April 2018 - 17:36.

cool thing about electricity, doesn't give a **** about altitude. and instant torque on corner exit. recipe for a great result.

If you haven't seen Loeb's record run...

If you haven't seen Loeb's record run...

 

That is just mental. What commitment.

But I have to say that Ari Vatanen's "climb dance" was better - as he has to deal with different surfaces, less safety..... and a whole load of boost arriving at once.

Oh go on then, have another

From on track testing

Such a cool looking car. My inner 10 year old approves.

What a beast. I wonder if it might look even better without the cartoon wing.

It looks like it's not quite as wide as an lmp1, excluding the extended splitter and side skirts. I would guess it's body/track is about 1700,1800mm wide but the vehicle itself is said to be 5.2m in length according to their press. Here's a little video

https://www.youtube....h?v=dCmEPf8-ck8

Edited by TF110, 24 April 2018 - 17:00.

Nice spaceship.

Is this a child of the 919?

Edited by Nytelotus, 27 April 2018 - 09:52.