Setting out to break the electric vehicle (EV) record at Pikes Peak International Hillclimb of 8:57, Volkswagen brought Romain Dumas (3 time PP winner and Le Mans winner) to pilot the VW I. D. R Pikes Peak vehicle. Not an insane amount of power or torque, but a complete design with massive aero. Despite what Dumas claimed as difficult conditions in the middle section of the course, he not only smashed the EV record, but also set a new sub-8 minute overall record: 7:57! I saw the car in testing, and it surely moves faster than you can imagine, the impression helped by the whir and whine of the electric motors. It’s not silent, (which is good I think), but very different to the sound of any combustion engined car.