Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (8)

The Audi RS Q E-Tron hybrid prototype it will participate in the 2022 Dakar Rally.

Set to compete in one of the world’s toughest Rally races, meet the RS Q e-tron*. Our main protagonist for the Dakar Rally 2022, this alternative race car concept is the apex of collaboration between Audi Design and Audi engineers. Created to challenge the limits and born to perform, this is the start of our Road to Dakar.

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (7)

Audi wants to be the first car manufacturer to use an electrified drivetrain in combination with an efficient energy converter to compete for overall victory against conventionally-powered competitors in the world’s toughest rally. “The quattro was a gamechanger for the World Rally Championship. Audi was the first brand to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with an electrified drivetrain. Now, we want to usher in a new era at the Dakar Rally, while testing and further developing our e-tron technology under extreme conditions,” says Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and responsible for motorsport at Audi. “Our RS Q e-tron was created on a blank sheet of paper in record time and stands for Vorsprung durch Technik.”

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (6)

The characteristics of the Dakar Rally present the engineers with special challenges. The marathon event lasts two weeks and the daily stages are up to 800 kilometers in length. “That’s a very long distance,” says Andreas Roos, responsible for the Dakar project at Audi Sport. “What we are trying to do has never been done before. This is the ultimate challenge for an electric drivetrain.”

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (5)

Because there are no charging opportunities in the desert, Audi has chosen an innovative charging concept: On board of the Audi RS Q e-tron, there is the highly efficient TFSI engine from the DTM. It is part of an energy converter that charges the high-voltage battery while driving. Since the combustion engine is operated in the particularly efficient range of between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, the specific consumption is well below 200 grams per kWh.

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (4)

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (3)

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (2)

Audi RS Q e-tron Rally car (1)

source Audi