How does VW's I.D R match up against Tesla's Model S P100D?

We’ve done this once or twice before, but we thought you’d like to see how a tremendously fast car fares against a mad, no limits racing car. In this instance it’s an all-electric line-up, both with twin electric motors driving all four wheels.

In the case of the I.D R Pikes Peak those two motors develop 670bhp, while in the Tesla they’re even more potent, producing 760bhp. And the difference in torque is even more pronounced, with the I.D R’s 479lb ft playing the Model S’s 722lb ft. So the I.D R, I’m sure for reasons of packaging, dynamics and weight, falls 90bhp and 243lb ft short of its ‘rival’.

But then more than gains it back when you put them on the scales. VW’s racer weighs a little over a metric tonne (its 1,100kg published figure includes the driver). Which is less than half the weight of the 2,241kg Tesla P100D. Power to weight ratios are 654bhp/tonne (I.D R) and 340bhp/tonne (Tesla).

I asked VW to let me have all the data, but the figures below are what they were prepared to release (to be fair I’m surprised they let me have anything). Here are the numbers.

                             I.D R          P100D Lud

0-30mph:             1.40           1.22
0-62mph:             2.25           2.68
0-100mph:           3.70           6.46
0-124mph:           5.00           10.84

So what can we tell? Well, firstly that the Tesla is bonkers fast off the line. The only cars we’ve ever tested that have bettered it are the Dodge Demon, Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911 Turbo S. However, what it also tells me is that I’m pretty sure VW is sand-bagging. I drove both the cars, and I can’t recall anything ever departing the line as vigorously as the I.D R. My gut instinct is that it could well be the first car to get to 30mph in under a second – it has low weight and four hot slicks to provide traction. And 62mph in 2.25? Tesla is claiming 1.9secs for its forthcoming Roadster...

From there on, of course, the ID R just walks away from P100D. As we’ve said about Teslas before, they have great real world acceleration, but once above three figures they tail off markedly. Still 0-100mph in 6.46secs is very, very fast indeed, as quick as a McLaren 540C or Audi R8 V10. But the I.D R takes just 1.5 seconds to pile on 40mph above 62, another 1.3 beyond that to get to 124mph.

As the I.D R reaches 124mph, the Tesla is just creeping up on 90mph. It’ll take more than double the VW’s time to reach 124mph. But it’s not like anything else can beat the I.D R. It’s 3.7s 0-100mph time is staggering. Bloodhound’s the next fastest thing, taking 4.5secs to reach 100mph, then there’s the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder tied at 5.0secs, the 720S at 5.3secs, the Ferrari 812 Superfast at 5.9. Nothing gets close.

In fact, given not only the speed, but the suitability of electric to altitude and the relatively short sprint that is the 12.42-mile course at Pikes Peak, it’s hard to see a way back to the podium for the internal combustion engine on the world’s most famous hillclimb.