Part of this came through energy regeneration at the brakes. The ID.R produced 9.2 percent of the energy it needed for the lap through recovery. Even the generator providing electricity for the ID.R was eco-friendly, running on near-emissions free glycerin instead of gasoline.

As is often the case with cars like this, VW isn’t just trying for bragging rights. It expects the technology from the ID.R to find its way into production models. In that light, it’s a sign of things to come. While you won’t be driving a road-going ID at these kinds of speeds, you won’t have to feel guilty about mashing the throttle now and then.

The trick, as you might imagine, was to save weight. Unlike the Pikes Peak variant, the ID.R at Goodwood was optimized for a “sprint” — it carried a smaller battery pack tuned for a brief but fierce assault up the 1.16-mile hill. There won’t be too many complaints given that an F1 car set the previous best, but this is a reminder that it still requires a lot of work for an EV to emerge triumphant.

As with VW’s other record-breaking runs, this is ultimately a media campaign. VW wants to show that it’s a big supporter of electric cars, and that its diesel emissions scandals are firmly in the past. Few things demonstrate that quite so clearly as proving that EVs can outperform gas-guzzlers in some of the toughest motorsport challenges on the planet.

Earlier this month, after lots of planning and testing, Volkswagen’s electric ID.R racer set a record for “the fastest lap ever driven in an emission-free racing car” at the famed Nürburgring-Nordschleife. An in-car video proving the record was released then, but now Volkswagen has put together a short behind the scenes video showing all the work necessary to make it happen, and stress of the actual day.

You’ll get up close interviews with the team and plenty of views from around the Green Hell. Check out the nine-minute video after the break, plus the in-car view of that blazing 6:05.336 lap around the 20.8km course. That’s not just the fastest EV lap at the ‘Ring, it’s the second fastest lap — period. Only the Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO has done it faster, with a 5:19.546 record set last year. Now the ID.R is focused on defending its crown at the Goodwood Hillclimb, and then taking on China’s 6.8-mile “Heaven’s Gate” road in September.