Axel May 3:08 p.m., January 02, 2022, modified at 3:09 p.m., January 02, 2022
It is one of the novelties of the year.
Hybrid Audi will take the start of the Dakar this year.
A slightly greener transition for this rally which is entering its 44th edition in Saudi Arabia.
A 100% electric Dakar.
We are still far from it, even if David Castera, the director of the event, announced the year 2030 as a target last year.
For this 2022 edition in Saudi Arabia, Stéphane Peterhansel, the man with the 14 Dakar wins, has signed up with an Audi prototype powered by two electric motors, powered by a battery which is recharged, thanks to a conventional gasoline engine. .
Because the distances to be covered are far too great for conventional automobile batteries.
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A sufficient engine to cross the stages of the Dakar?
"Theoretically, we did simulations. We should be able to go through all the stages of the Dakar, including stages of 800 km during the day, without having to stop to recharge anything because we have a heat engine. which continuously charges the batteries ", emphasizes Stéphane Peterhansel.
"We really have a car that moves forward only thanks to the electric motor and a heat engine that changes our batteries."
400 kilos more than a buggy
The reliability of this hybrid prototype has not yet been race tested, but Stéphane Peterhansel believes that electric propulsion gives a definite advantage for crossing the dunes.
On the other hand, the vehicle weighs 400 kilos more than the buggy, which enabled it to win its 14th Dakar last year.