Category: Highlight

  • Audi RS Q E-Tron super SUV gets ready to rock at 2022 Dakar Rally

    It was less than a year ago that Audi announced its intention to enter the 2022 Dakar Rally with a bespoke SUV powered by electric motors, and on Friday we got our first look at the brand with the four rings’ contender.

    Called the RS Q E-Tron, the wild off-roader has been designed as a rally raid-style vehicle, much like Prodrive’s BRX Hunter which competed for the first time earlier this year in the 2021 Dakar Rally.

    The Audi is a much more sophisticated beast as it is powered by an extended-range electric powertrain that relies on a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 mated to a generator to keep the battery on the boil. The battery is a 50-kilowatt-hour unit that alone weighs 815 pounds.

    [embedded content]

    The wheels are driven exclusively by a pair of electric motors, with a single motor at each axle to form an all-wheel-drive system and software controlling the torque distribution. The electric motors, which feature a single-speed transmission, can also act as generators under braking and help to top up the battery. Peak output is 670 hp, though this may be limited depending on the rules for the 2022 Dakar Rally.

    The electric motors are the same Audi uses in Formula E, a sport the automaker will quit after the current season. Audi said the motors needed only minor modifications for use in its Dakar contender. As for the range extender, it was lifted out of Audi’s former RS 5 DTM race car. It will operate between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, which is the engine’s optimal band for efficiency, Audi said.

    Competing in the Dakar will allow Audi to stress test multiple components similar to what will feature in the automaker’s future electric road cars. Unlike Formula E, whose races last just 45 minutes, the Dakar Rally has multiple stages spanning two weeks, with some stages running close to 500 miles in length and lasting multiple hours. The 2022 rally will run through the deserts of Saudi Arabia next January.

    2022 Audi RS Q E-Tron Dakar Rally contender

    2022 Audi RS Q E-Tron Dakar Rally contender

    “What we are trying to do has never been done before,” Andreas Roos, head of Audi’s Dakar project, said in a statement. “This is the ultimate challenge for an electric drivetrain.”

    Audi has made a multi-year commitment to compete in the Dakar Rally. And while it has never competed in the event before, fellow Volkswagen Group brands Porsche and Volkswagen have experience to call on—especially VW which scored a hat track of wins between 2009 and 2011.

    Concurrent with the Dakar program, Audi plans to compete in the new LMDh class serving as the top class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and World Endurance Championship. LMDh’s first season will be in 2023.

    Source

  • Electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class launches in 2024

    Mercedes-Benz will launch a battery-electric version of the iconic G-Class in 2024, the automaker said on Thursday.

    Confirmation of the electric G-Class, which could go by the name EQG, was made during a presentation outlining Mercedes’ plans to transition to a full-electric brand by 2030. Yes, get ready to say goodbye to internal-combustion engines at Mercedes-Benz, including at Mercedes-Benz AMG.

    Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius first mentioned plans for an electric G-Class in 2019. At the time, he said Mercedes had looked at discontinuing the G-Class, but he felt that the last Mercedes to be built should be a G-Class.

    But why the long gestation? The big and blocky G-Class will require a substantial kilowatt-hour rating and Mercedes may want to wait until battery technology improves. It isn’t clear whether Mercedes will electrify the G-Class platform, or install the G-Class body on one of its electric platforms.

    A plug-in hybrid G-Class is likely to eventuate before the electric version, and it could come with an AMG badge attached. AMG plans to introduce plug-in hybrid technology across its range before switching to a full-electric lineup, and the Affalterbach tuner is known to be readying a powerful setup incorporating a V-8. This setup debuts shortly in the GT 4-Door Coupe and will offer more than 800 hp.

    Note, if you want an electric G-Class today, there’s a company in Austria by the name of Kreisel that offers an electric conversion, though so far the company has only shown converted versions of the previous-generation G-Class. Kreisel’s setup features an 80-kwh battery and an electric motor at each axle for a combined 482 hp. One of the first people to take up Kreisel’s G-Class electric conversion was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Source

  • Bugatti bought back the first Veyron Grand Sport prototype and restored it

    Bugatti on Tuesday presented the first of its cars from the modern era to receive a restoration and certification via the automaker’s La Maison Pur Sang program.

    The car is the first prototype example of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, and the version used for the Veyron Grand Sport’s debut at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It’s finished in white silver metallic paint and features a Cognac brown leather interior.

    The La Maison Pur Sang program, which operates out of Bugatti’s headquarters in Molsheim, France, and whose French name roughly translates to “The Thoroughbred House” in English, was launched in early 2020 with the aim of providing both existing owners and future potential owners with an official detailed history of its vehicles.

    Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport prototype #001

    Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport prototype #001

    This is particularly important in the world of collector cars, especially when those cars may have been used in competition or owned by famous individuals, which is the case for virtually all of Bugatti’s early models. According to Luigi Galli, the head of the program, he and his team are able to trace the history and determine the authenticity of any Bugatti model and its parts, regardless of age.

    The program also offers a full restoration service and an upgrade service where only official parts are used, ensuring that any modifications made will not impair the car’s certification.

    In the case of the Veyron Grand Sport prototype, which Bugatti only reacquired from an unnamed seller in 2020, a complete strip-down was undertaken to identify the parts used and restore any that were worn. Multiple body panels were repainted and leather and aluminum elements in the cabin were all replaced. With the work completed, the car was almost immediately snapped up by a new collector, according to Galli.

    Source