The Audi RS Q e-tron - test laboratory for possible future technologies

Clear the stage for an electrifying high-tech test laboratory: Just under a year after the initial concept idea was developed, Audi Sport has started testing the new Audi RS Q e-tron, with which Audi will take on one of the greatest challenges in international racing in January 2022: the Dakar Rally. The special feature: Audi wants to be the first automobile manufacturer to use an electrified drive in combination with an efficient energy converter to fight against conventionally powered competitors for overall victory in the world's toughest rally. 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 long. "That's a very long distance," says Andreas Roos, responsible for the Dakar project at Audi Sport. "What we are trying to do, no one has tried before. For an electric drive, this is the ultimate challenge." Because there are no charging stations in the desert, Audi has chosen an innovative charging concept: On board the Audi RS Q e-tron is the highly efficient TFSI engine from the DTM. It is part of an energy converter that charges the high-voltage battery while driving. As the combustion engine is operated in the particularly efficient speed range between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, specific consumption is well below 200 grams per kWh.