Audi RS Q E-tron is an ELECTRIC Dakar weapon – with ICE help

The Audi RS Q E-tron is a 671bhp electric special built to tackle the Dakar Rally, charged on the go by a 2.0 litre petrol engine.

Audi has built the RS Q E-tron to tackle the Dakar Rally, and the headline is, as you might suspect from the name, that this is an electric Dakar car.

How, you might think, is Audi going to have a prayer of competing at high speeds in harsh conditions for up to 500 miles a day with an electric car? Well, although the RS Q e-tron is powered by electricity, the electricity is powered by ICE.

Audi are calling the Dakar challenge with the RS Q e-tron “the ultimate challenge for an electric drivetrain”, and what Audi learn from this exercise will influence their EV powertrains for the road.

Audi hasn’t developed some sort of super battery for the RS Q e-tron – although it is a battery specially developed for the project –  but it has developed a way to charge the battery on the go. Yes, this is a range-extender Dakar car.

Audi has fitted a 2.0-litre petrol engine from the RS5 DTM racer to keep the battery charged, spinning at 4500-600rpm, unconnected to the wheels and designed only to keep the battery charged, a task also helped by regenerative braking.

The RS Q e-tron manages to throw 671bhp at the road (Dakar regs allowing) through an electric motor on each axle borrowed from Audi’s Formula E car (and another as an energy convertor) with torque distribution.

Juan Manuel Diaz of Motorsport Design said:

The vehicle looks futuristic and has many design elements that are typical of Audi. Our aim was to symbolize Vorsprung durch Technik and the future of our brand.

Although don’t expect a road version of the RS Q e-tron.