After a fantastic record set at Pikes Peak, the fully-electric Volkswagen ID. R will take on another special challenge in September 2019. Romain Dumas will be back at the wheel of the 500-kW electric sports car for the record attempt on the Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road – a unique stretch of tarmac, featuring 99 corners, which winds its way up Tianmen Mountain, located roughly 1,500 kilometres southwest of Beijing.
As no o?cial record exists for the eleven-kilometre mountain road, which is not accessible to public transport, Volkswagen China will run a competition prior to the record attempt, in which participants can set their own virtual time on the Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road. Dumas will then attempt to better the time of the fastest participant under real conditions in September.
The narrow Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road is a real tourist attraction. It winds its way through one of the most primeval mountain landscapes in the world. Also known as Tongtian Avenue (Road to Heaven), the route is used by buses to transport visitors up Tianmen Mountain. It starts in the valley at about 200 metres above sea level and ends at an altitude of roughly 1,300 metres. The mountain’s summit is at 1,519 metres above sea level.
