No, the Dakar Rally will not really be electrified. After all, pure electric cars would also require charging stations on the distances of up to 800 km. The Audi RS Q e-tron is only charged at the end of each day, at least up to 50 kWh. That would then be an advantage opposite to the competition, so new rules have to be found.

It has to be clear that the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid, albeit a serial one that we have always assumed would never make sense. Why should you also convert gasoline into electricity and only then use it for propulsion? It seems to make sense here, because e.g. clutch, gearbox, cardan shaft and possible axle drives with locks are no longer necessary.

Another advantage originates from the gasoline internal combustion engine, which comes from the DTM and has an output of up to 450 kW at 9500 rpm. It is throttled here and trimmed for maximum efficiency. Nevertheless, it obviously always works at 4500 to 6000 rpm, directly connected to the loading unit.

That probably means that this power has to be used permanently, which of course would be impossible in normal road traffic. At the Dakar Rally, too, one seems to expect fluctuations there, which should be balanced out by at least 52 kWh of the high-voltage battery. In addition, it has to absorb up to 220 kWh by the combustion engine or the recuperation.

Audi has already achieved so much: changed the rally world with the quattro, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours with a hybrid drive, successfully strengthening Formula E. This time one even has the advantage of being able to be able to develop more oneself, e.g. the battery. Of course you don't say that out loud, but it would be already a plus point to arrive with the newly developed vehicle.