With two months to go until Pikes Peak, Volkswagen has revealed the all-electric I.D. R Pikes Peak race car, and it has completed its first laps of a racetrack in Alès, France.

The electric race car aims to break the existing record of 8:57.118 minutes for electric cars at the iconic Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado Springs, USA. With 680 hp and 650 Nm of torque outputted from the twin-motor powertrain and weighing less than 1,100 kg, the I.D. R Pikes Peak is said to be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.25 seconds, which is faster than Formula 1 and Formula E cars.

In preparation for beating the record the prototype will undergo intensive testing initially in Alès and other racetracks in Europe, then back in the USA. Romain Dumas, three-time winner of the hill climb and the driver for the actual race on 24 June, was also present at Alès and will continue with the packed schedule of testing.