The annual Dakar Rally is one of the toughest in the world, with teams, drivers and cars constantly pushing the envelope. In 2022, Audi entered the race for the first time with the electric drive car RS Q e-tron, and was truly able to compete with traditional fuel-powered cars, which not only created another history of electric drive racing, but also ushered in a new era in the Dakar Rally.

The well-known Dakar Rally receives the keen attention of more than 500 million people around the world every year during the competition. When we clap our hands in front of the TV and see the racing cars flying against the wall, we don't know that the team and the drivers are struggling with all their strength on the edge of mental and physical limits. People who really understand the Dakar event know that the competition in the game is only the appearance, and "survival" is the real rules and meaning of the game.
Every year around June, millions of wildebeests travel north from tanzania's Serengeti Reserve to Kenya's Masai Mara National Park, trekking more than 3,000 kilometres in search of food and staging the most spectacular animal migration scene on earth. Two or three months after reaching the end, due to climate change, the wildebeest expeditionary army will once again return to the Serengeti in pursuit of grass. However, during the migration, the entire team is constantly threatened by natural enemies such as lions, jackals, and crocodiles, and of the millions of migrant teams, only 30% of the lucky and strong people can return to the place of departure and continue their excellent genes.
The Dakar Rally is based on the migration of animals as the source of the concept, expressing human reverence for the laws of nature's survival. Harsh environments, difficult routes, and scarce supplies are like jackals and leopards on the way to the wildebeest, threatening the drivers at any time, testing the car and the team. In this competition, only those who have strength, luck, and are well versed in the "law of survival" can be favored by the goddess of victory.
In this Dakar Rally, Audi used the RS Q e-tron race with an electric drive system and an efficient energy converter for the first time, and it took only 12 months from research and development to competition. A new team, a new car, Audi's dakar rally is as full of unknowns as man's first moon landing. The daily driving stage is hundreds of kilometers long, the soft sand creates huge driving resistance, the external heat, and the racing regulations require vehicles to weigh as low as two tons... Even by motorsport standards, the Dakar Rally is demanding. Even so, Audi's 3 RS Q e-tron cars not only completed all races and achieved the set goals, but also won 4 stage championships and 14 podiums. How strong is Audi's "movement genes" that allow it to survive the first "migration"?
Innovative and intelligent power supply system
Since the Dakar Rally is held in the desert, there is no opportunity for the car to recharge, and the existing battery technology cannot achieve a pure electric off-road vehicle that meets the requirements of the Dakar Rally. That's why Audi opted for an innovative way of charging: the Audi RS Q e-tron was equipped with a high-efficiency TFSI engine for the German Touring Car Masters (DTM). The energy converter, as part of the engine, is capable of charging the high-voltage battery while the vehicle is on the move, with a charging power of up to 220 kW. Since the main operating range of the combustion engine is in the high efficiency range of 4,500 to 6,000 rpm, its fuel consumption will be much lower than 200g/kWh.
At the same time, in order to meet the requirements of battery capacity, performance, handling and safety mechanisms, the Audi RS Q e-tron uses proven battery technology with a high-voltage battery capacity of 52 kWh to meet the maximum power demand in all stages of the rally. High-voltage batteries containing cooling medium weigh approximately 370 kg. Project engineers and electronic technicians program algorithms to ensure that the battery state of charge (SoC), that is, the remaining power is within a certain range according to the power demand. There is always a balance between energy extraction and battery charging over a given distance.
Efficient energy recovery system
The Audi RS Q e-tron features an electric drive system with a front and rear axles equipped with the same Motor Generator Module (MGU) for the Audi e-tron FE07 race car developed by Audi Sport for the Formula E 2021 season, with a combined power of 288 kW. For maximum energy efficiency, Audi also adheres to the principle practiced in the Le Mans and Formula E championships in the desert: braking energy recovery.
A complex intelligent braking system (IBS) consisting of hydraulic braking functions and electrical regenerative braking, the motor unit (MGU) that controls the front and rear axles converts the kinetic energy of the wheel rotation into electrical energy, with the aim of maximizing energy recovery. Thanks to this targeted design, the Audi RS Q e-tron uses less energy than its rivals and recovers energy more efficiently. The race limited the fuel tank volume of the energy converter, which also proved the high energy efficiency of the Audi Rally car.
Complex cooling system
Whether it is a fuel car or an electric car, the cooling system is an important guarantee for the normal operation of the car. In the high temperature of the desert, the design of the heat dissipation system is even more difficult. In order to ensure that the system with complex technology and high load operation works perfectly, Audi has specially developed a well-designed cooling system. Audi's extensive experience in complex cooling technology, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro with hybrid drive system won three 24 Hours of Le Mans championships, and Audi's extensive experience in formula E greatly contributed to the birth of this cooling system.
However, the objectives of the campaign are very different: the first task of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is to improve aerodynamic efficiency as much as possible, while the prototype of the desert is concerned with achieving optimal heat dissipation. As a result, the Audi RS Q e-tron has multiple cooling circuits, including: high-voltage battery (HVB) cryogenic circuit, generator module (MGU) cryogenic circuit, steering power and jack circuit, air conditioning cooling circuit, coolant and charge air dual high temperature circuits, designed for maximum loads to ensure that the car always maintains the right temperature.
The high-voltage battery uses an insulating coolant called Novec, with a cryogenic loop radiator located under the front cover; three MGU modules are interconnected via a cryogenic loop and dissipated through the left radiator at the front of the vehicle. The cryogenic circuit is a particular challenge for engineers, as desert air at 40 degrees can only cool the coolant at 60 degrees celsius due to the small temperature difference.
The Energy Converter for the Audi RS Q e-tron features a fluid circuit with a heat sink, and the TFSI engine circuit is thermally connected to the system via a heat exchanger. Exhaust gas turbocharging requires another cooling system: the compressed intake air flows into the engine through the intercooler. The liquid cooler and charge air cooler are located side by side above the rear axle. The roof fairing separates the airflow between the two radiators. This airflow can be insufficient during difficult stages, such as when passing through the dunes at low speeds, and for this reason, fans are installed behind the two radiators located at the rear of the car, allowing hot air to be discharged if necessary.
Ultimate security
The risks of off-road racing lie in the consideration of complex safety strategies, and from the electrical safety of high-voltage systems to optimal driving protection in accidents, Audi's racing development team has achieved many breakthroughs.
The protective and load-bearing infrastructure of the Audi RS Q e-tron is a tubular structure made of metallic materials. Audi selected alloy structural steels from the aerospace industry that meet both the geometry specified for the event and the required static pressure test standards. In addition, the cockpit within the structure consists of a carbon fiber housing, a design derived from DTM and Le Mans racing. Panels made of composite materials are used in the space to better protect the driver. These parts are made of composites such as Carbon Fiber Composites (CFRP) and Kevlar, and are placed in specific locations on the body, plus tear-resistant Zylon fiber materials to prevent the body from being punctured by sharp and sharp objects. Similarly, these materials protect drivers and occupants from high-voltage systems.
The protection of vehicle undersides is extremely complex, and electrically driven high-voltage systems require multiple layers of protection to achieve a high level of safety. The encapsulation layer is located in the center of the vehicle and includes a carbon fiber composite (CFRP) structure, supplemented by some Zylon fiber material. In off-road sports, the bottom of the car is a component that withstands extreme pressure, including bumps up to one meter high, rocks splashing on the road, and steep slopes. The bottom layer of the vehicle consists of an aluminum plate that is resistant to hard object wear. The foam above the baseplate absorbs the impact and distributes the impact to the sandwich structure above.
The carbon fiber sandwich structure mainly performs two tasks: the first is to absorb the surface load transmitted through the foam from the aluminum plate; the second is to dissipate energy by crushing the foam when the surface load is exceeded. Controlling the pressure effectively protects the high-voltage battery and energy converter tank above. If the structure is excessively damaged, the assembly can be easily replaced at the night service station at the Rally campsite.
The RS Q e-tron is the most sophisticated and complex car in Audi's history and the epitome of Audi racing technology. In order to face the harsh racing environment, Audi applied the technology and experience accumulated over many years on the DTM, Formula E, Le Mans and off-road rally to this Dakar car. With years of accumulation in the auto sports arena, a sound logistics team and a luxurious lineup of drivers, Audi's three cars crossed 24,000 kilometers of vast desert to complete the race, and won 4 stage championships, accumulating 14 podiums, with excellent results. Rider Mattias Ekstr m and his navigator Emil Bergkvist finished in ninth place in Jeddah, becoming the best Audi driver in the Dakar Rally.
People who have not experienced the Dakar Rally first-hand will find it difficult to appreciate how difficult it is. Since the opening of the event, there have been many dream-chasing warriors who have experienced the baptism of the soul. Former F1 world champion Alonso was asked whether he could impact the championship when he first competed, and he said that this was simply whimsical, which showed that this "migration" was difficult to go to the sky. Similarly, a team that is strongly backed by a driver is shouldered with greater responsibility, and any negligence can lead to irreparable results. So we can imagine how much effort Audi put into the first race and how much pressure it withstood. Audi modestly said before the game that being able to finish the game is the biggest victory. In fact, Audi's achievements in this competition are not a surprise, but a reward after hard work.
After its debut at the competition, Audi, as the leading car brand, did not meet the status quo, but set an ambitious goal of winning the next Dakar rally in an all-round way. Back in Germany, the team will further evaluate the Audi RS Q e-tron and will hone itself in all kinds of races and continue to optimize. With the advent of the era of electric mobility, Audi has also ushered in a new era of off-road rally.