DAKAR – THE ELECTRIC WAY Developed from a clean sheet of paper in less than a year, Audi’s RS Q e-tron aims to fight Words: Tom Alderney Pictures: Audi
F
rom the Renault 4 of Claude and Bernard Marreau to the Rolls-Royce Corniche hybrid of Thierry de Montcorgé, the Dakar Rally has seen no end of unique looking vehicles. There was a twin-engined Citroen 2CV, too, as well as a J70 Toyota Landcruiser converted into a functioning chip van.
38 | SEPTEMBER 2021
6pp Audi Dakar e-tron.indd 38
Following his Rolls-Royce adventure, the aristocratic de Montcorgé returned for another pop at the Dakar the following year in a similarly eye-catching six wheeler. Called the Jules Proto, this was going well until its chassis broke. It’s safe to say that with the extraordinary looking new RS Q e-tron, Audi is not looking to
become another footnote in the annals of Dakar weirdness. If there’s an iconic one-off from the past the company is seeking to emulate, think instead of the high-riding Porsche 911 prototype in which René Metge won the event in 1984. The electric RS Q e-tron has already had an extraordinary story. It was conceived less than a
4x4 03/08/2021 11:17
