Audi Sport has begun testing the RS Q e-tron prototype, on the basis of which the company intends to compete in the Dakar rally marathon in 2022. This hybrid car is based on Formula E technology.
The RS Q e-tron is based on what is commonly referred to as a series hybrid. The wheels are driven by electric motors, and the internal combustion engine is used solely to recharge the batteries.
An electric motor from a Formula E car is mounted on each axle of the prototype, their total power is 680 hp. (how many can be used directly in the race, the organizers have not decided yet). Each rotates its axis through single-stage gearboxes. A 370 kg lithium-ion battery provides about 50 kWh of charge.
Since you can’t drive the average Dakar special stage on pure electricity (usually their length reaches hundreds of kilometers), the engineers also mounted a 2.0 TFSI gasoline turbo engine used to recharge the battery. True, it was taken not from an ordinary car, but from a racing RS5 DTM. The internal combustion engine operates in the optimal mode for itself at speeds from 4500 to 6000 per minute. Behind the rider is a 295-liter fuel tank.
Stefan Dreyer, project manager for the development of motorsport at Audi Sport, promised that the experience of developing the RS Q e-tron will be used in the creation of future production Audi models.
Audi brought to the tests a hybrid car RS Q e-tron for the "Dakar"
