It looks a bit like a mix between a car of the future and an F-117 Nighthawk, perhaps the most distinctive of American stealth aircraft. We are talking about the Audi RS Q e-tron, a racing prototype that will be called to participate in the Dakar 2022, the endurance stage – the same ones that can be up to 800 km long – which will be held in the Saudi Arabian desert between 2 and January 14, departing from Ha’il and arriving in Jeddah.
The heart of the vehicle is a complex hybrid powertrain consisting of three electric motors, derived from those that drive the Formula E e-tron FE07 single-seaters: two are located at the level of the two axles (therefore the car has four-wheel drive), while the third helps keep the battery charged.
To the electron trio is added a 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine, derived from the cars that race in the DTM championship: it consumes about 200 grams of fuel for each kWh of energy produced and acts as a “range extender”, recharging the 50 kWh battery (from alone weighs 370 kg) of the RS Q e-tron, which is also refueled by “recycling” the energy generated during deceleration and braking. The maximum system power is 680 hp.
“As engineers, we basically see the development potential of each component, but as far as the power unit is concerned, we have already achieved system efficiency of over 97% thanks to Formula E and there is not much more headroom. for improvement ”, explains in an official note Stefan Dreyer, head of development.
“The situation is quite different with batteries and energy management and this is where the greatest potential for development in electric mobility in general lies. Everything we learn from the Dakar will flow into future models in production ”, concludes Dreyer. In the coming months, Audi will continue to test the prototype, also participating in some rallies pending the Dakar 2022.
