Audi Dakar team heads to Morocco to test out the mighty RS Q e-tron

After some comprehensive tests in Germany and Spain, the Audi RS team heads for the desert and the dunes in the heart of Morocco. All three driver crews were involved in the project. Also, Dakar record winners Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekström took turns at the wheel of the highly complex prototype.

As expected, their co-drivers Edouard Boulanger, Lucas Crus, and Emil Bergkvist were there. Driver and co-driver form an important unit in the Dakar Rally and they have to feel comfortable in the cockpit.

We expect much lower temperatures at the Dakar Rally, says Andreas Roos, Nevertheless, we deliberately went to Morocco to test our concept under the most extreme conditions. Components such as the MGU, for example, were basically not developed for use in such high ambient temperatures, but the drivetrain and other components were also pushed to their limits or even beyond by the heat. The insights we gained in Morocco are invaluable, but they also show us that we still have a lot to do before the Dakar Rally and there is not much time left.

The high-voltage battery, exclusively developed for the Dakar Rally, is also a central topic.

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It's all about optimum temperature management and being able to call up the battery's maximum performance, says Roos, This is where we are learning with every test. And that's exactly why we are going to the desert with an electrified drivetrain: We are gaining an incredible amount of experience that we are sharing with our colleagues from road car development.