2017-10-19 10:00
Volkswagen has revealed two images of a new racing car that could potentially take on the infamous Pikes Peak hillclimb in Colorado Springs next June.
In a series of tweets from the German manufacturer, VW posted two teaser shots of a wide and streamlined vehicle that is rumoured to have an electric powertrain under the bonnet. The images were followed by a 55-second video stating VW’s intent on returning to Pikes Peak on 24 June 2018.
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Accompanying the tweets was the hashtag ‘#UnfinishedBusiness’, alluding to the marque’s previous attempts to set the fastest time up Pikes Peak in 1986 and 1987.
On those occasions, VW used a twin-engine Mk. 2 Golf, finishing fourth fastest in 1986. The following year, the 652bhp Golf retired with suspension failure only a few corners from the end, having led proceedings during most of the run. The current Pikes Peak record was set in 2013 by Sébastien Loeb in a Peugeot 208 T16.
The rumours of an electric powertrain for the car come in the wake of further Dieselgate fallout and seem plausible. Volkswagen Group has already begun to increase its presence in the all-electric Formula E championship, with Audi making its debut in the coming season beginning in December and Porsche joining the series in 2018.
Volkswagen enjoyed great success in its brief stint in the World Rally Championship between 2013 and 2016, winning the Constructors Championship every season, as well as taking all four Drivers Championships with French rally driver Sebastien Ogier.
Due to Dieselgate, Volkswagen was forced to pull its WRC programme but after a one-year sabbatical, it looks set to make a comeback for one mammoth rally stage next summer.
Do you think VW will do the business at Pikes Peak? Let us know in the comments?
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