- To replace Formula E in the motorsport calendar

- Prototype will have an electric drivetrain

Audi is switching its motorsport presence in the coming years. The German carmaker has announced its participation in the 2022 Dakar Rally for the first time. The Dakar announcement is an outcome of Audi’s withdrawal from the FIA Formula E.

A dominating name in the Group B rally in its heyday, Audi with its Quattro technology is returning to rough terrains after a long time. After a successful run in Formula E, bagging constructor’s championship in 2017-18, Audi plans to field its e-tron technology as customer racing but not as a team’s work. As the focus turns towards Dakar, Audi also plans a return to Le Mans in the coming years.

Now coming to the prototype, all we know so far is that it is electric. More technically it’s a series hybrid since Audi says the “energy required for this (prototype) comes from a high-voltage battery, which can be charged as required while driving via an energy converter in the form of a highly efficient TFSI engine”. So the know-how from the Formula E won’t exactly be an upper hand here as this is an entirely new powertrain. On the upside, the experience gained here in the Dakar stage would then be incorporated into the further development of future electrified production models rolling out of Ingolstadt.