Audi is getting its electrified powertrain technology to 1 of the most grueling races on the world. It will compete in the 2022 version of the Dakar Rally with an experimental gasoline-electric powered hybrid off-roader named RS Q E-Tron.
Whilst a number of products in the German firm’s line-up put on the E-Tron label, the Dakar-sure RS Q is a function-made prototype that’s not in any way linked to a production model. It was developed for racing from the ground up in about a calendar year, and it can be a way to take a look at a number of clever features that could trickle down to upcoming products afterwards on.
Audi chosen a hybrid drivetrain alternatively of likely all-electric powered since Dakar phases can be up to five hundred miles extensive just before detours and other unpredicted activities are factored in. Discovering a charging station in the Saudi Arabian desert is a lot easier reported than finished, and ready for an electric car to demand isn’t really perfect in a race wherever every single split second is significant. The program depends on a TFSI engine sourced from the firm’s now-shuttered DTM touring car plan and established up to demand the fifty-kilowatt-hour battery pack on-the-go. It operates in between four,five hundred and 6,000 rpm.
From there, the electricity reaches the 4 wheels through a pair of electric powered motors (1 per axle) borrowed from the car Audi races with in Method E, a set up that presents the RS Q E-Tron a by means of-the-road version of the famed Quattro all-wheel-travel program. Compact modifications have been built to every single motor to get ready them for the trials of Dakar. Lastly, you can find a 3rd motor mounted as aspect of the electrical power converter program it helps demand the battery pack as well.
The system’s total output checks in at 670 horsepower, nevertheless it can be unclear how substantially of this reserve the car will be permitted to tap into for the duration of the race. Laws will not likely be finalized until finally afterwards in 2021. In the meantime, Audi will proceed screening the RS Q E-Tron on off-road tracks and in cross-region rallies to make any and all adjustments just before the 2022 Dakar, which starts off on January 2 in Ha’il, Saudi Arabia, and finishes in Jeddah 12 days afterwards. Dakar legends Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz will travel the two prototypes Audi will enter in the celebration.
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