Last year, Volkswagen surprised everyone when the all-electric I.D. R smashed the outright record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb after completing the high-altitude mountain course in less than eight minutes. Since then, VW has been on a mission to set a new EV record at the Nurburgring – and it's already succeeded.

Volkswagen has announced that the I.D. R managed to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in just six minutes and 5.336 seconds, beating the previous record set by China's NIO EP9 electric supercar by an incredible 40.564 seconds. For comparison, the EP9 lapped the 12.9-mile circuit in six minutes and 45.90 seconds. Behind the wheel of the I.D. R was Romain Dumas, who also set the previous record in the NIO EP9. This also makes the VW I.D. R the second fastest car to ever lap the Nurburgring after the Porsche 919 Evo, which holds the current outright record with a time of five minutes and 19.55 seconds.

Dumas completed five laps of the circuit in the I.D. R and set the new electric record on his final lap of the day. "To be a record-holder on the Nordschleife makes me unbelievably proud," says Dumas. "For me, this is the best and most difficult race track in the world. I want to thank the team at Volkswagen Motorsport, who have once again done a fantastic job. The ID.R was perfectly prepared for the Nordschleife and it was so much fun to experience the blistering acceleration and rapid cornering speeds."

To prepare for the record attempt, Volkswagen had to further enhance the ID. R's aerodynamics since the Nurburgring presented different challenges to Pikes Peak. Modifications include an altered the energy management system to help the car reach its top speed faster and an F1-inspired aerodynamic package featuring a new rear wing, new front splitter and a drag reduction system that reduces downforce by up to 20 percent.

While the NIO EP9 has a combined output of 1,341 hp produced by four electric motors, the ID.R has a comparatively modest 670 hp combined output. However, it's nearly half a second faster off the line than the EP9 with a 0-62 mph time of just 2.25 seconds, before VW's electric racer tops out at 168 mph. Stay tuned for the obligatory on-board video showing the record lap in full.