Report 1
Electric Awards 2022
Top Gear
TG's best electric racer: the Audi RS Q e-tron
Audi's monster Dakar challenger is a genuine revolution - there's nothing else like it
What is it?
The most interesting racing car of 2022. And yes, that includes the new F1 cars. They’re merely modified. Audi’s RS Q e-tron is plain unique. Back in January it competed in its first ever race – the biggest, most gruelling, most hostile event on the planet: the Dakar rally. It was the first electrically-powered car to do so, and it was instantly on the pace, the three cars recording four stage wins between them. It uses an electric motor on each axle, drawing power from a 50kw battery pack underneath the seats. But it hasn’t entirely deserted petrol yet...
Give me some details about the Audi RS Q e-tron.
It’s a hybrid. There’s no way a 50kW battery pack is going to power a two-tonne, 4WD desert racer through stages that can be several hundred kilometres long. So it has a range extender: a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that's only there to turn a third electric motor to recharge the battery. There’s also a strong recycling message here. The petrol engine is one of the most thermally efficient ever designed and used to power Audi’s RS5 DTM racer. The electric motors are from Formula E. Yes, track technology now taken to the depths of the desert.
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Why should I care about the Audi RS Q e-tron?
It represents the future of the race. Because the ICE runs at constant revs and is never put under heavy load, it uses around 40 per cent less fuel than a conventional Dakar entrant. It also barely needs to use the wheel brakes as the regen is so powerful – in fact it can harvest more than it deploys. In short it’s the first step along the road to a more sustainable future for Dakar in particular and desert racing in general. Plus if Audi can prove full hybrid tech works on a race as long as this, where else could it lead? Le Mans? Audi has some history there…
Why did you give the Audi RS Q e-tron an award?
Because it’s genuinely revolutionary and there’s nothing else like it. WRC has gone hybrid this year, but very much with a lower case ‘h’. The Dakar regulations are very open, they permit teams to bring in new technology and ideas, so Audi has used that opportunity to try something radical. That deserves praise – especially as the whole project went from initial sketches to race start in only 15 months. Dakar is so tough that no-one comes here with a new car and wins first time out. The RS Q will be back next year, gunning for shinier silverware.
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