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Added on the 22/09/2022 05:48:53 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
The latest episode of Inside Dakar provides a behind-the-scenes look at the continuing development of the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 – this time from the test in the Moroccan desert.
Team Audi Sport taking part in the pre-event shakedown session near Alula, testing the three Audi RS Q e-tron entries ahead of the 2024 Dakar Rally.
The Audi RS Q e-tron faces its third Dakar Rally. Team Audi Sport has optimized the pioneering rally prototype, that has an electric drivetrain, a high-voltage battery and an energy converter, in meticulous detail for the toughest rally of the year. The three driver crews of Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger, and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz are facing the most difficult task of the year with optimism, but also respect.Audi was the first manufacturer to develop a T1U model for the Dakar Rally. The aim: the electrically powered prototype is to prove that a low-emission vehicle can master one of the toughest motorsport events and be competitive at the same time. The drivers, co-drivers, and management of Team Audi Sport agree: A particularly challenging edition of the Dakar Rally lies ahead of all participants. Twelve special stages during 14 days in Saudi Arabia cover 4,727 kilometers. Including all of the liaison stages, the route results in a total distance of 7,891 kilometers. The teams often have to complete more than 400 kilometers a day on the special stages.
Audi improves the RS Q e-tron once again: Ahead of its third outing in the Dakar Rally, the rally prototype with its pioneering electric drivetrain with a high-voltage battery and an energy converter receives innovations in many areas. The Audi driver crews of Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz benefits from numerous detail improvements in January 2024. The new ideas make the RS Q e-tron safer, more reliable, more comfortable and a little lighter, as well as having shorter maintenance times for the team.
The aerodynamic concept in the area of the body below the hoods is completely new. This section is almost reminiscent of the shape of a boat’s hull: its widest point is at the height of the cockpit, while the body tapers significantly towards the front and rear. Audi has now dispensed with the part of the fenders that was behind the front wheels and formed the transition to the door. Internally, this structure was called the “elephant foot.” As a result, the designers saved more weight and optimized the air flow. “The aerodynamic aspect should not be underestimated in desert rallying either,” says Löffler. Admittedly, the new cockpit dimensions mean that the body has a larger and therefore less favorable cross-section. Nevertheless, it was possible to reduce the overall aerodynamic drag by around 15 percent, i.e. the product of the CD value and the frontal area (A). This does not change the top speed. It remains limited to 170 km/h in the regulations. Nevertheless, the improved air flow offers one major advantage. “It further reduces the energy requirements of the electrically powered car,” says Löffler. “We implemented the aerodynamic calculations entirely using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).” These computer simulations replace the time-consuming work in the wind tunnel and still deliver highly precise results.
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