The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is to U.S. car culture as the Pikes Peak is to hill climbs. It’s only fitting then, that the winner and new all-time fastest record holder from this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be displayed at the Petersen. It’s also appropriate to the current automotive scene that the winner, which beat the all-time record by 15 seconds, is an electric car.
While many people might assume a Tesla took the hill climb honors, the new Pikes Peak champ is a Volkswagen. The Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak will be on display at the Petersen Museum from December 9, 2018, to February 1, 2019.
During its time at the museum, the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak will be displayed outside the Petersen’s Mullin Design Studio to promote an upcoming event. Next fall the Petersen will open the “Driving Toward Tomorrow” exhibit, which will feature concept cars including electric designs from many international automobile manufacturers.
“As we head toward an electric future, we are proud to be at the forefront of the discussion,” said Petersen Automotive Museum Executive Director Terry L. Karges. “Through our collaborations with Volkswagen, we are able to showcase one of the most impressive electric cars in the world, inspiring our audience to be curious about the future of mobility and the implications it has on the automotive industry as a whole.”
When the electric VW took the hill on June 24, 2018, its combined 670-horsepower twin electric motors unraveled the dangerous 13-mile serpentine course in seven minutes and 57 seconds. Volkswagen’s fully-electric production cars are scheduled to arrive starting in 2020 will be built on the I.D. platform. It’s a sure bet none will look much like the race car, however.
Prior to its arrival at the Petersen Museum, the VW I.D. R Pikes Peak is on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which ends on December 9.
For more information about the VW I.D. R’s record-breaking run, check out the video below or read Digital Trend’s coverage of the event and why it means so much to Volkswagen.
If you’d like to see the record-breaking electric VW race car in Los Angeles, the Petersen Automotive Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days week.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.