All New Volkswagen ID.4 Debuts a radical off-road racing version

The North American division of Volkswagen has presented a new competition version of the Volkswagen ID.4 that will compete this weekend in the NORRA Mexican 1000, a tough test on the land of the Bbaja California peninsula in Mexico.

Just like a week ago a prototype of the Lordstown Motors electric pick-up participated in the SCORE San Felipe 250, the new Volkswagen ID.4 will debut today in competition in a very similar race, the NORRA Mexican 1000, a National Off test. -Road Racing Association (NORRA) that also takes place in the desert of the Baja California peninsula, in Mexico.

In order to withstand the harshness of this test, the German brand has presented a prototype that has been specially developed for this purpose and that has been prepared in collaboration with specialists such as Rhys Millen Racing and Tanner Foust Racing.

Although the example in question has numerous modifications at the frame level, the truth is that it retains much of its standard configuration, such as the electrical mechanics or the battery pack. In addition to most minor elements such as the dashboard or even the steering wheel.

In the images we can see that it has a totally new suspension scheme that raises the body considerably to make room for a reinforced suspension with much more travel and 18-inch wheels shod with off-road tires. We find the usual metallic protection elements in the underbody, roll cage inside, competition backets with harnesses and all the necessary safety elements to be able to homologate the model. Although curiously it continues to mount elements such as the original light-colored steering wheel or the infotainment system screen.

Mechanics

Curiously, it does not have a powered mechanic, so it continues to mount its 204 hp (201 hp) electrical scheme and an 82 kWh battery pack. According to the company, they hope that the prototype will be able to travel most of the race without recharging its batteries, although for this they do not rely on its electric autonomy but on a gasoline generator that has been installed in the rear of the model and that it is supplied with air by the new air intake installed in the rear window. This 50 kWh generator is powered by biofuel and will allow this off-road variant of the ID.4 to complete up to 98% of the test route without stopping to recharge batteries, which in this edition will be 1,141 miles (1,836 km), the vast majority of them off the asphalt.

The presence of the generator will be key for the participation of the model, because only a week ago Lordstown Motors discovered in the worst possible way the enormous difference in consumption between driving comfortably on asphalt at legal speeds and jumping on stones and dunes thoroughly. The participation of the prototype of the Lordstown Endurance in the SCORE San Felipe 250 lasted just under 65 km, because at the first stop scheduled to recharge batteries they realized that they were consuming much more energy than expected due to the speed and constant unevenness and that they weren't going to be able to get to the next charging point. The decision then was to abandon the test and return to the starting line.