Audi RS Q e-tron: this is Sainz's electric car to take on the Dakar

After announcing its trio of drivers for the Dakar Rally, the brand of the four rings now presents the Audi RS Q e-tron, a prototype with an innovative electrified propulsion system with which Carlos Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekström will fight for victory in the overall classification of one of the toughest races in the world. The brand of the four rings has already unveiled its Road to Dakar project, and it seems the plans are being fulfilled as expected.

Audi says that finishing the event on its first participation would already be a huge success. But it is no secret that the German brand has bet big to make history again in competition, as it once did with quattro all-wheel drive in the World Rally Championship. Or at Le Mans, first with its TDI and later with its electrified prototypes. The goal is to become the first brand to win the Dakar with an electric car. And it would be even better if it could happen on its first attempt.

Audi RS Q e-tron: an electric car that recharges while you drive

Externally, the Audi RS Q e-tron is a buggy like those we usually see competing in the Dakar, to the point that, were it not for the Audi logos, it would be hard to identify it as a brand design. It is difficult to transfer features of road vehicles to this type of car, although it cannot be denied that it has an imposing futuristic look, especially seen from the rear.

What no one could guess by looking at the car from the outside is the sophisticated propulsion system that Audi has developed for the RS Q e-tron, combining technologies from the DTM and Formula E. Because the wheels of the Audi RS Q e-tron are always driven by electric motors…

You are surely thinking that it is impossible to face marathon daily stages, some of up to 800 km, with a racing car battery-powered in the middle of the desert, when the production Audi electric car with the greatest homologated range (and without racing) is the new Audi Q4 e-tron, which barely exceeds 500 km. And you are absolutely right. But the RS Q e-tron has a “trick”.

Allowing for differences, the concept is like the one Opel Ampera once used: electric motors drive the car and a combustion engine generates electrical energy on board. Audi also presented in 2010 a prototype with this “range extender” propulsion concept, the Audi A1 e-tron, in this case with a Wankel engine. But this technology never made it to production.

DTM and Formula E technology for the Dakar

In the RS Q e-tron, two MGU (motor-generator) units like those of the Formula E single-seater are used, one on each axle. And the combustion engine is the 2-litre 4-cylinder with turbocharger supercharging that has achieved so many successes for the brand in the DTM. This engine never drives the wheels; it drives a third MGU unit like the two previous ones, which supply electrical energy to the motors and to the battery installed on board, which has a capacity of 50 kWh. The petrol engine is especially efficient: it runs almost all the time between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, with a specific consumption of 200 grams of fuel per kWh generated.

The total power the RS Q e-tron system can reach is 680 CV (500 kW), although Audi, which is already in the full testing phase of the prototype, highlights that the Dakar organisation itself has not yet finalised the regulations with the maximum power that will be permitted for this type of vehicle.

Of course, the RS Q e-tron features electric quattro all-wheel drive, that is, with no mechanical connection between the axles, and the transmission only needs one forward gear. Audi has developed specific software that acts as a central differential, with far more configuration possibilities than any mechanical system when distributing torque between the axles.

As part of the testing process, the RS Q e-tron plans to take part in some cross-country rally event before its participation in the Dakar. At that point we will really see the potential of a car and a concept that could make history.

Audi RS Q e-tron image gallery