Electric VW EV beats gas fair and square.
French racing driver Romain Dumas and car maker Volkswagen stamped their authority in 7:57:148 on all 12.4-miles (19.99km) of the course, destroying its existing record and setting the first sub-eight minute time in race history. The VW had 875hp inside a car that weighed just 1,929 lbs.
In the lead-up to the 2018 race, VW’s stated goal was clear—beat Rhys Millen’s 2016 EV record of 9:07.22, even though that race was won byRomain Dumas’ gasoline-powered performance in his Norma M20 on that day of 8:51:445.
Second place this year was taken by Simone Faggioli in 08:37.2 driving a piston powered Norma M20 SF PKP.
If any car has an advantage at Pikes Peak it’s the electric EV. The start line is already at 9,390 feet (2,862m) above sea level; the finish line is an even higher 14,110 feet (4,300m), and much of the course is above the tree line, where there’s 40 percent less oxygen to breathe. Consequently, internal combustion engines will lose power—significantly—as they climb the route, even with the aid of forced induction or crafty fuel mixtures.
This year Dumas in the electric VW handily beat both of those records with his 7:57:148.
The Pike’s Peak is the second-oldest motor race in the United States—only the Indy 500 predates it— and is unlike virtually every other professional motorsports event.