Audi has revealed an up to date model of its bespoke RS Q E-Tron constructed to deal with the grueling Dakar Rally.

The newest model is the third iteration of the rally raid-style SUV, which Audi has confirmed will compete within the 2024 Dakar Rally going down in January. The rally will cowl shut to five,000 miles, crossing the rocky outcrops and deserts of Saudi Arabia.

The updates assist enhance the security, consolation, and reliability of the RS Q E-Tron, Audi stated. They’ve additionally lowered the burden of the car and shortened upkeep instances.

The unique RS Q E-Tron was entered within the 2022 Dakar Rally. It proved profitable, with Audi managing some stage victories and a few single-day podium outcomes. An up to date RS Q E-Tron was then entered within the 2023 Dakar Rally, however crashes meant the group was largely unsuccessful.

2024 Audi RS Q E-Tron rally automotive

Just like the earlier iterations, the most recent RS Q E-Tron stays a sequence plug-in hybrid, the place a combustion engine is used to cost a battery feeding an electrical drive system, on this case a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup delivering a peak 383 hp.

Laws name for a minimal weight of two,100 kg (roughly 4,630 kilos). The RS Q E-Tron weighs greater than this goal, however engineers nonetheless managed to cut back the burden from earlier iterations through the use of lighter physique panels, smaller brake calipers, and optimization of some inside elements. They managed this whereas working with tires which can be extra sturdy however heavier than in earlier years.

Within the space of security, the engineers wished to attain much less bounce throughout landings after massive jumps, a problem that led to a automotive rolling through the 2023 rally. Modifications have been made to the springs, dampers, and the bump cease within the chassis, Audi stated. A carbon-fiber strengthened plastic crash field on the entrance of the chassis was additionally made longer, permitting it to soak up extra power throughout crashes.

Competing within the Dakar permits Audi to emphasize check a number of elements, a few of them probably certain for future manufacturing EVs, together with maybe a rugged off-roader. Audi additionally competed in Method E, however in contrast to that sequence, whose races final simply 45 minutes, the Dakar Rally has a number of phases spanning two weeks, with some phases working near 500 miles in size and lasting a number of hours, offering a significantly better check of endurance.