It's no secret that the Volkswagen I.D. R is an extreme machine. Powering the electric race car are a pair of electric motors that send a combined output of 670 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels. There may be more powerful EVs launching in the near future, but the I.D. R only weighs 2,220 lbs.

Incredibly, the car's aerodynamics package delivers more than the car's weight in downforce. 0-62 mph takes just 2.25 seconds, and the LMP1-spec Alcon carbon brakes and regenerative system means the I.D. R can generate up to five G under braking.

Top Gear's Ollie Marriage recently became the third person in the world to get behind the wheel of the electric I.D. R prototype that smashed the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb record by a significant margin. Recounting his extreme experience, Marriage reveals the electric race car can corner so vigorously that it can cause you to momentarily pass out.

"The split second after turn-in is alarming, terrifying even, but then, because the corner is long, my brain does something funny. It relaxes. It tells me all's fine and I should take some time out, kick back, have a nap," Marriage explained while attempting to make a high-speed turn at close to the car's 137-mph limited top speed.

"And then, as I straighten up, my brain snaps back to attention, synapses whirr and I wake up gasping, as if I'd had a nightmare and sat bolt upright in bed. It's weird."

According to the car's test driver, Dieter Depping, Marriage experienced G-LOC, which causes you to lose consciousness due to high g-forces. Suddenly, it makes sense why the I.D. R will never be street legal. Volkswagen will, however, use the I.D. R to try and beat Nick Heidfeld's outright Goodwood hillclimb record of 41.6 seconds set in a Formula One car next year.