Updated

Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 22

JR Hildebrand Sets 9.5-Minute Pikes Peak Production Record in 1,250-hp Corvette ZR1X

Updated

Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 22

JR Hildebrand Sets 9.5-Minute Pikes Peak Production Record in 1,250-hp Corvette ZR1X

Q: Eight years later, why does Volkswagen's electric record remain untouched at Pikes Peak?

Volkswagen’s 2018 mark still stands because the I.D. R was an exceptional, purpose-built electric prototype, and no later entrant has matched that combination of outright pace, aero efficiency and ideal conditions on the full Pikes Peak course. Romain Dumas set the record at 7:57.148 in the Volkswagen I.D. R, an unlimited-class machine built specifically to attack records. That matters: it was not a production-based car, but a highly specialized EV designed around maximum hillclimb performance. By contrast, many recent challengers, even very fast ones, have been production-derived or built to different class rules. The gap remains significant. In 2026, Dumas won again in Ford’s 1,400-hp Super Mustang Mach-E, but his 8:18.202 run was still more than 21 seconds slower than the Volkswagen record. JR Hildebrand’s new production-car benchmark in the hybrid Corvette ZR1X, 9:30.104, shows how far the all-time mark still is from even elite showroom-based machinery. There have also been practical obstacles. Some recent EV attempts were disrupted by weather, course limitations or reliability issues. In 2025, conditions prevented full use of the upper mountain, reducing the altitude advantage EVs normally enjoy. In 2026, Evasive Motorsports’ Ioniq 5 N entry was damaged in practice and did not start. So the record has lasted not because EVs stopped being competitive, but because the I.D. R set an unusually high benchmark and no comparable sub-eight-minute run has been delivered since.

1 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 22

9.5 minutes was enough for JR Hildebrand to drive the 12.4-mile, 156-corner Pikes Peak course and set a new production-car record in Chevrolet’s hybrid Corvette ZR1X.
1,250 hp helped the roughly $210,000 ZR1X overcome a climb to 14,115 feet, where thin air can sap as much as half the power from traditional combustion engines.
The 104th Pikes Peak International Hillclimb again highlighted the technology split between electrified and combustion cars, with hybrids and EVs chasing mountain supremacy.
7:57 remains the overall course benchmark, set by Volkswagen’s EV I.D. R in 2018; Romain Dumas returned this year for Ford in a 1,400-hp Super Mustang Mach-E.

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Ars Technica4h ago

JR Hildebrand's 1,250 hp Hybrid Corvette ZR1X Sets New Pikes Peak Production Record in 9.5 Minutes

How did a showroom-spec hybrid Corvette conquer America's most extreme mountain race?

With EVs and hybrids dominating, is this the end for combustion engines at Pikes Peak?

Eight years later, why does Volkswagen's electric record remain untouched at Pikes Peak?

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Center100%

Ars Technica4h ago

JR Hildebrand's 1,250 hp Hybrid Corvette ZR1X Sets New Pikes Peak Production Record in 9.5 Minutes

JR Hildebrand Sets 9.5-Minute Pikes Peak Production Record in 1,250-hp Corvette ZR1X

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