Raise your leg

Driving report: Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar - Raise your leg

Audi has been trying to take home the winner's trophy at the Dakar Rally since 2022. So far without success. After all, the toughest cross-country rally in the world is no walk in the park. Particularly not when you're trudging through the sand with an electrified drive in combination with an efficient energy converter. Apparently, they are confident in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm that they will triumph in the desert race in 2024. The Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is a special edition of the electric SUV.

Wanting to be different from the others is rarely cheap. So the Audi Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar, which will be available from the beginning of 2024, costs around 120,000 euros. By comparison, the basic Q8 advanced 55 e-tron quattro variant is priced at a minimum of 87,300 euros. That is around 32,700 euros less. Money for which you can get a VW Golf 8 with the basic equipment. If you then take into account that both the capacity of the lithium-ion battery with 114 kilowatt hours (106 kWh net) and the drivetrain of the all-wheel drive with 300 kW / 408 hp (in boost mode) and a torque of 664 Newton meters are identical, the question remains as to what you get for the extra charge.

For Product Manager Maximilian Eberwein, the answer is clear: "the emotional flagship of the e-tron family." It starts with the look. The Dakar Q8 e-tron is available in magnetic gray and siam beige metallic paint. Another color is called Mythos Black Metallic. If you want something really special, you can order the semi-transparent foiling in addition to this paint finish, which emphasizes various elements of the vehicle and gives the Q8 e-tron edition Dakar a powerful appearance. However, this variant is limited to 99 units and costs around 10,000 euros extra. We are sitting in one of them in the Omani desert.

The single-frame radiator grille is painted in the same color as the car on all variants. A light strip is available on request. The add-on parts on the wheel arches allow the body of this Q8 e-tron to grow to the width of the SQ 8 e-tron. A real Dakar racer needs a roof basket that can carry 40 kilograms. Audi is aware of this and fits it as standard. The Q8 e-tron edition Dakar also comes with eight tires, including the General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tire, which is fitted to our test vehicle. At the Dakar Rally, the hills are steeper and the water fords deeper. The body of the Dakar Q8-etron is therefore 65 millimeters higher than the road version. 30 millimeters come from the spacers, while the air suspension contributes 35 millimeters.

This gives the Dakar Q8 e-tron a ground clearance of 220 millimetres even in the basic setting. At higher speeds, the body lowers gradually so that it can also be driven quickly and stably on asphalt. If the body nestles closer to the road surface, this also helps the range, which is up to 450 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. Not unimportant for an electric vehicle. At 85 km/h, the body is 15 millimetres closer to the asphalt, from 100 km/h it is a further 17 millimetres and from 120 km/h it is another 13 millimetres. The Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar thus reaches country road speed from a standstill after 5.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 200 km/h.

Today we are heading off-road, where the front slope angle (21 degrees), the rear slope angle (28 degrees) and the ramp angle of 19 degrees are important. As we soon find out, the fording depth of 300 mm also plays a significant role. The tour through the desert begins, which will provide us with different surfaces. Something of each. That's how it should be. First the classic gravel road to get used to. The Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is a joy from the very first meter. We are relaxed and fast on the road. Fits.

Now comes the sand. Even that doesn't upset the stilt-plus-electric vehicle. The Audi confidently burrows its way through the deeper terrain. It's important that we make the course corrections with a gentle hand. We also have to cross a sandy field with a lot of gusto to avoid getting stuck. However, this is not the rule. The fact that the full torque of an electric scooter is immediately available usually requires a sensitive right foot off-road. Even more so now that we have to fight our way up steep ramps. So activate the off-road mode so that the E-Kraxler stretches its legs by 15 millimetres. The principle of off-road driving is identical for an electric vehicle and a conventional SUV in these passages. Accelerate gently and let the technology do the work. We stick to it and notice how the Q8 e-tron Dakar masters all obstacles with flying colors. Then comes the final hurdle: water! But even that doesn't put Audi off its stride, despite the bow wave. Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether all this fun is worth the extra cost. For contemporaries who want to stand out from the crowd, certainly. It's also quite cool when the kid gets his satchel out of the basket before school.