Upgraded Audi RS Q e-tron to enter 2024 Dakar Rally

MANILA: The Audi RS Q e-tron will once again showcase its superior performance and capabilities at the 2024 Dakar Rally that will begin tomorrow.

For its third Dakar Rally, Team Audi Sport has meticulously tuned three RS Q e-tron units' electric motors high-voltage batteries, and energy converters. The team's three driver pairings — Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist, Stephane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger, and Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz — are confident in their capacities to win the championship.

“The Audi RS Q e-tron has already caused quite a stir in its first two Dakar appearances. Audi was once again a technological pioneer in its outstanding motorsport history. We have initiated a paradigm shift. The combination of an electric drivetrain and a reFuel-powered energy converter is unique and very efficient. We know what we have already achieved,” Audi Motorsport Head Rolf Michl stated.

Since last year, the RS Q e-trons have been using residue-based reFuel for the Dakar Rally, resulting in a 60-percent reduction in carbon emissions.

The vehicles' new setup provides improved comfort and efficiency. A number of improvements on the cockpit were made, which led to reduced noise levels and better protection against harsh impacts for the driver and co-driver.

Another updated feature was the electric drivetrain, which runs on a high-voltage battery that draws power from an energy converter. This year's regulations placed a 286-kilowatt limit on the electric drivetrain's output, distributed between the front and rear axles. 

The 2024 Dakar Rally will consist of 12 special stages that will be held over 14 days in Saudi Arabia and cover a race distance of 4,727 kilometers (km). The route distance totals to 7,891 km when the “transport” stages — the portions that connect one stage to the next — are included.

Photos from Audi

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