On its Dakar debut in January 2022, the Audi RS Q e-tron set standards for the efficiency and competitiveness of e-mobility in motorsport. Now the next step follows: The three desert prototypes with electric drive and energy converter will be at the start of the next edition of the Dakar Rally from December 31, 2022, to January 15, 2023, for the first time with an innovative fuel.
‘At Audi, we are pursuing a consistent strategy of decarbonization,’ says Oliver Hoffmann, Board Member for Technical Development at Audi. ‘Our battery vehicles and renewable electricity are the lead technologies. To complement this, renewable fuels offer the possibility of running internal combustion engines in a more climate-friendly way. The Audi RS Q e-tron combines both systems in its innovative drive. As a result, we are now even more sustainable on the road in the toughest motorsport imaginable for electric drives.” Audi relies on residue-based products that do not compete with foodstuffs for the fuel used in the rally car to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Behind this is a process that converts biomass into ethanol in the first step. The final fuel is then produced in further process steps. The process is abbreviated to ethanol-to-gasoline (ETG). The process engineers use biogenic plant parts as the starting product. The tank content of the RS Q e-tron consists of 80% sustainable components, including ETG and e-methanol. This fuel is required by the energy ...