Audi: Desert racer number 2 on the grid 🎥
ANOTHER DRAFT In March, the Audi RS Q e-tron won its first desert rally in Abu Dhabi. Now the next evolutionary stage is ready. The prototype has been revamped for the 2022 Morocco Rally and the 2023 Dakar.
The body of the Audi RS Q e-tron desert racer is completely new. It now has better aerodynamics and helps to lower the weight and center of gravity. In the interior and during wheel changes, the driver and front passenger also benefit from easier operation.
Following these further developments, the RS Q e-tron now bears the abbreviation E2. It is reminiscent of the legendary Audi Sport quattro in its final development stage for Rally Group B in the 1980s.
Preparation for the next exam
Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and responsible for motorsport: "The entire team is working excellently together and pulling in the same direction. As is usual at such an early stage, the drivers, co-drivers and technicians quickly agreed on the next development targets."
This marks the beginning of the second phase of the development program. In October, Team Audi Sport will prepare for the 2023 Dakar Rally with the new prototype in Morocco.
Optimization of energy management
The electric drive of the RS Q e-tron E2 comprises an energy converter consisting of an internal combustion engine and generator as well as a high-voltage battery and two electric machines. Energy management plays a decisive role in this. The electronic control of the electric drive has proven itself in the first rally events.
Ancillary consumers such as the power steering pump, air conditioning cooling pump and fan also benefit from the now further optimized control system. The Audi teams Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz can look forward to their new workplaces.
Test at the Rally du Maroc
Following initial trials led by Arnau Niubó Bosch, Head of Test Engineering, Audi Sport unveiled the RS Q e-tron E2 on September 1 in Neuburg an der Donau.
From October 1 to 6, the new technology will have to prove itself for the first time in competition at the Rally du Maroc. Then all three Audi driver pairings will contest the desert rally with start and finish in Agadir in the southwest of the North African country.
