Audi to enter Dakar rally with special RS e-tron
The Audi RS e-tron faces stages up to 800km a day in the Dakar rally. Photo: Audi
Audi is planning on entering next year’s Dakar rally with its all-new RS Q E-tron car that is referred to as an "electrifying high-tech test laboratory".
Audi Sport is working on the special vehicle for the January 2022 notorious event that lasts two weeks and the daily stages are up to 800 kilometers.
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.”
Because there are no charging opportunities in the desert, Audi has chosen an innovative charging concept: Onboard 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.
The drivetrain of the Audi RS Q e-tron is electric. The front and rear axles are both fitted with a motor-generator unit (MGU) from the current Audi e-tron FE07 Formula E car which has been developed by Audi Sport for the 2021 season. Only minor modifications had to be made to use the MGU in the Dakar Rally.
A third MGU, of identical design, is part of the energy converter and serves to recharge the high[1]voltage battery while driving. In addition, energy is recuperated during braking. The battery weighs about 370 kilograms and has a capacity of around 50 kWh.
