Audi R8 Takes On e-Tron Dakar Rally Car in Drag Race
Audi's resident supercar takes on the brutish RS Q e-Tron Dakar racer in an intriguing battle between internal combustion and electric power.
Head to Head
The two vehicles in question are not exactly competitors of one another. In fact, one would seldom mention the R8 and the RS Q e-Tron in the same sentence, other than for the fact that they both wear the Audi badge. Still, pitting German make's fastest road-legal gas-powered car against a purpose-built EV off-road racer is an engaging proposition.
Photos: Youtube / Carwow
RS Q e-Tron
A drag race competition between these capable machines is exactly what the folks at Carwow had in mind. In one corner, we have the Dakar racer. Powered by a couple of electric motors, one at each axle, the RS Q e-Tron is limited to 340 horsepower in race mode. The limiter is turned off for this showing, though, bringing the output to 680 horses.
R8
In the other corner, we have the trusty R8, powered by the famous V10 engine, and capable of 620 horsepower. Being a road-going supercar, the R8 has the advantage in terms of weight distribution and dynamics. That helps in evening the playing field against the electric race car.
Handicapped
The crew runs three drag races from a stop. The Dakar racer wins the first with relative ease. The R8 comes back, though, taking the win in the second race by a small margin. In the final race, however, the electric race car takes the victory again. A valiant effort for the supercar. But as the R8's driver mentions in the video, his handicap in this scenario is having an internal combustion engine.
Consolation For the R8
They also tried running the race with a rolling start. This was done in three tries. The first was with the R8 in comfort mode, where the Dakar racer took the win easily. The second saw the supercar in performance mode and starting in 3rd gear. This race was quite close, with the RS Q e-Tron taking the win. But in the last race, with the R8 starting in second gear, it was able to catch up and take the win. Not that this battle proves anything in particular, but it's fun to watch nonetheless.
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