Audi's Dakar Win Proves The Future Of Off-Roading Is Electric

Audi's Dakar Win Proves The Future Of Off-Roading Is Electric

EVs are just better in tough conditions.

Audi has finally won the Dakar Rally, proving that electric vehicles are the future of off-roading. Carlos Sainz and navigator Lucas Cruz took the lead halfway through the 12-stage event, and the ICE cars could not catch up.

Audi will not return in 2025, as most of its motorsport know-how is moving over to Formula 1. If we were Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, or Mercedes, we’d be pretty worried about what the Germans are planning for the pinnacle of motorsport.

Still, Audi made its point. It is possible to win the most demanding off-road race on the planet with only electricity powering the axles. There is a caveat, but we’ll get to that in a second. First, we need to understand why this victory is so impressive.

The most Rally-Raid vehicle in recent years is the Toyota GR DKR Hilux, which has nothing in common with a real Hilux except for the shell vaguely resembling the beloved pickup truck. Toyota first entered the Dakar in 2012, and its first overall victory only came in 2019. The Hilux also secured wins in 2022 and 2023.

Audi first entered in 2022 and won two stages. It returned in 2023, and Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekstrom won one stage each. And this year, Carlos Sainz and his RS Q e-tron wiped the floor with the Toyota Hilux, finishing more than an hour ahead of privateers Guillaume de Mevius and Xavier Panseri.

Now, about that caveat. Since there are no chargers in the Saudi Arabian desert, the RS e-tron used a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from Audi’s DTM car as a generator for the battery. It’s essentially the same system the new Ram 1500 Ramcharger will employ, but even more advanced, as we shall now explain.

The underpinnings of the RS e-tron perfectly illustrate why it’s better to use an ICE component to charge a battery rather than using it to power the wheels. The total system output of the two electric motors can be as high as 670 horsepower, which the 2.0-liter engine could never achieve by itself – not reliably, anyway. The ICE component also can’t match an electric motor when it comes to peak torque delivery, which is what won the trophy for Audi at the end of the day.

To better understand why, let’s look at the various bits underneath. There’s the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine borrowed from DTM, never producing more than 220 kW, which is the maximum charging speed of the battery. It feeds power to the battery via an Audi MGU05 generator borrowed from Formula E. The generator uses intelligent battery charging and energy management, so it’s not always on.

What we find most impressive of all is the battery size. Because it has a ramped-up Golf GTI generator, the RS e-tron only needs a 52 kWh battery. For example, Audi’s ridiculous Q8 e-tron Dakar special edition uses a 114 kWh battery. Even Mini’s new Cooper SE EV uses a 54.2 kWh battery, which is only suitable for 250 miles.

The size of the battery matters, as you can see in the image below. It makes the entire drivetrain relatively compact and could easily be slotted into a production car. We doubt Audi would use a DTM-derived engine for a series production car, but even a standard GTI engine produces more than enough power to keep that tiny battery charged.

The rest of the drivetrain consists of two MGU05 motors, also borrowed from Audi’s Formula E team. There’s one on the front axle and one on the rear, and the limited slip differentials and center differential are nothing more than a few software codes.

Still believe hardware is best? Remember, this car just won the most demanding off-road race there is. If it can survive Carlos Sainz at full send, it can probably withstand whatever you have in mind.

We’re the first to admit that EV batteries remain seriously flawed and that emissions-free motoring is a myth. That being said, the RS e-tron has a tiny battery, which already makes a big difference. It requires roughly half the various elements required to build the smallest battery currently sold in a BEV. The Audi Q4 e-tron uses an 82 kWh battery, for example. The smallest battery within the VW Group in the USA is 62 kWh, used by the entry-level ID.4.

The entire battery system, including the energy converter, weighs 816 pounds. That may seem like a lot, but the average Tesla battery weighs roughly 1,000 lbs more. A GMC Hummer EV battery weighs 2,818 lbs.

The turbocharged four-pot generator doesn’t need to work hard. It only has to turn over the point at which it produces the kilowatts required by the battery. So, while the traditional ICE cars are revving like mad trying to get up the dunes, the Audi’s engine is constantly turning over at roughly 4,500 rpm. According to Audi, the system uses 40% less fuel than its rivals.

We must also consider drivetrain loss. Gas-powered engines aren’t particularly good at getting the latent power out of fossil fuel. In the industry, that’s known as thermal efficiency, and it’s basically how much of the gas’ power is converted to energy and how much is converted into heat.

The most thermally efficient engine in production is Toyota’s Dynamic Force 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder, running a 13.0:1 compression ratio. It operates at 40% thermal efficiency, which means that for every gallon of fuel you use, 60% is converted to heat.

An electric motor operates at 98%, so using this unique hybrid setup gives you a lot more out of the fuel. This year, the RS e-tron was already run on partially synthetic fuel, but there’s no reason it can’t use Porsche’s synthetic fuel, which is entirely guilt-free.

What it boils down to is a 2.0-liter turbocharged motor revving at 4,500 rpm results in a combined power output of 670 hp at the wheels, though Audi has to limit the power to 400 horses because of the FIA’s Rally-Raid rules.

Technically, no. But Audi has given us a taster of what electric vehicles should be able to do once battery technology finally evolves to a point where consumers no longer have to worry about range. We’ve arguably already reached that stage with standard cars, but off-roaders will need more.

Around 400 miles should do it.

Where will you charge it? Everyone but Stellantis has given in to Tesla’s superiority, and the Supercharger network is set to grow thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Now that Tesla is the leader, most of that sweet government money will go Tesla’s way, but other automakers are investing massively in growing the charging infrastructure in the USA.

Just think about how excellent an electric off-roader will be, and please don’t point to the recent video of Cybertruck getting stuck. That was a basic tire issue, which ended up being a storm in a teacup. The same would have happened if that uninformed driver was behind the wheel of a Wrangler Rubicon.

There’s less that can go wrong with no mechanical linkage between the front and rear wheels. You can sneak up on animals more easily and enjoy nature silently. Crawling along in complete silence adds a new layer to the off-road experience.

Most importantly, you have that instant torque without needing a low-range transfer case. In fact, most off-roaders will likely limit the torque in whatever off-road mode to ensure drivers don’t use it all at once. And think of all the extraordinary driving modes the engineers can develop once they don’t have to deal with a physical differential. For reference, see the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, which comes standard with sideways mode.

There’s also no need for gear changes, which Carlos Sainz said played a significant role in his victory. If you’re driving on dunes, momentum is critical. Even something as simple as a gearchange can get you stuck, but the Audi’s just put all their power down faster than you can blink.

They’re already out there, and we know from first-hand experience that they work beautifully. Examples include the Rivian R1T and R1S, the Hummer EV, and the Ford F-150 Lightning. Once production of solid-state batteries starts ramping up in 2030, we’ll likely see even more.

The first dedicated off-roaders will likely come from Scout. It will debut two models this year, but they’re only going into production in 2026. Given the rapid evolution of battery technology, the SUV and pickup truck might even launch with the perfect combination of power and range.

We know it’s tough to accept change. When the car first came along, people thought it was a stupid idea because there was no network for fuel. “How will this ever replace the horse?” they asked.

The same thing is happening now, but thanks to Audi, we know the future of off-roading is electric.