Volkswagen To Race All-New Electric Car At 2018 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Volkswagen has teased its upcoming electric racecar that'll race at the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. From what we can see, the single-seat electric car wears a pair of large wings front and rear for massive downforce. The cockpit is linked directly to the rear spoiler, with a vertical fin giving the spoiler extra strength, while the car enjoys improved straight-line stability. Powertrain and other specifications are still under wraps, and so is the driver's name, who's most likely going to be someone familiar with the surface of the podium at the venue.

The car will race on June 24, 2018, as the German carmaker returns after 31 years since its twin-engine Golf attempted a climb up the Colorado Springs mountain. We may get to see the all angles of the car at one of the major American auto fairs, possibly the LA Auto Show or Detroit's mega fair.

In 2016, at the 100th anniversary of the PPIHC, for the first time in history, an electric car breached the 9-minute time and took 8:57.118 to negotiate 156 turns spread across the 20km climb up the mountain. In the 2016 edition, Rhys Millen piloted the 1618PS eO PP100 and finished second only to Romain Dumas driving the 618PS Norma M20 kitted with a Honda-sourced turbocharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder K20 engine. Dumas was quicker by about five-and-a-half seconds as he recorded 8:51.445.

With the diesel smoke now in the rearview mirror, Volkswagen is focusing all of its attention to make sure the soot never catches it again. The carmaker has invested heavily and plans to further spend a lot of cash towards developing electric cars of all shapes and sizes. For rapidly expanding market share, the oldest trick in the book is to 'Win on Sunday. Sell on Monday'. Motorsport grabs consumers' mindshare like nothing else and helps participating carmakers continuously evolve their mass-market cars as the tech percolates from the track to the road. The manufacturer also plans to have 23 all-electric cars in its lineup by 2025. Volkswagen wants a slice of that hot pie that's set to go from being bite-sized to XXL in the next decade.