Volkswagen has their minds set on reeling back the loyalty of their customers after the infamous “dieselgate” scandal. For the upcoming Pikes Peak race, they may have the answer to earn the title of being the people’s car brand again.
We all know how badly hit Volkswagen was after the dieselgate fiasco, and it would not be an overstatement to say that it’s akin to “having terminal understeer crashing into a tree.”
Recovering from a massive burn in reputation (and its financial repercussions) isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. You only need to look as far as Apple’s iPhone 4 “antennagate” fiasco, or Samsung’s ill-fated Galaxy Note7.
On the auto side, let’s see how Nissan handles it moving forward.
That said, Volkswagen would very much like it if we let bygones be bygones. And hopefully, the company’s rebranding into an EV company will help fast track its recovery.
Recently they teased a picture of their new Pikes Peak race car, a first step in its bigger picture EV journey.
A whisper silent, high powered electric car? Why not? Since EV cars are inherently clean, at least from the consumer level. And what better stage to unleash a beast than at the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Pikes Peak hill climb is the second oldest auto race in the U.S., founded in 1916 by Spencer Penrose. It’s the greatest challenge for both man and machine, and it attracts the best drivers and biggest brands in the world.
Legendary rally drive Sebastien Loeb still holds the overall record at Pikes Peak, set in his Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak special, back in 2013.
The VW Pikes Peak EV Special
VW’s EV hillclimb special looks like some other versions of electric cars that have tackled the hill in the past.
There’s plenty of aero bits, as well as an enormous rear wing and a deep, wide front splitter.
The silhouette has more than sprinklings of similarities to the Rimac E-Runner Concept One of “Monster” Tajima from several years back.
Details are scarce at this point, but it will be interesting to see how VW negates this.
Looking back, the last time VW took part in the hill climb was back in 1987. Then it had the amazing twin-engine turbocharged Golf was the jewel of the company at the event. The pocket rocket was insanely fast and sounded mad, but sadly didn’t finish.
The hill climb race will take place in 2018. Let’s see how Volkswagen fares this time round.
Source: Autoblog
