Neuburg a. d. Donau, September 1, 2022 – In March 2022, the Audi RS Q e-tron received its first desert rally in Abu Dhabi, and now the following evolution is prepared. The progressive prototype presents itself considerably improved for the 2022 Morocco Rally and the 2023 Dakar Rally. The physique is totally new and options considerably enhanced aerodynamics. It helps decrease the prototype’s weight and centre of gravity. New working methods additional enhance the effectivity of the electrical drivetrain. In the inside and when altering wheels, the motive force and co-driver profit from simpler operation. Following these evolutions, the RS Q e-tron now bears the abbreviation E2. It is paying homage to the legendary Audi Sport quattro in its last improvement stage for Group B rallying within the Nineteen Eighties.
Second part of the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 improvement program
“We’ve managed a good debut at the Dakar with the Audi RS Q e-tron and even our first stage victories in a motorsport discipline that is new to us,” says Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and liable for motorsport at Audi. “The entire team is working excellently together and pulling in the same direction. As is usual at such an early stage, the drivers, co drivers and technicians quickly agreed on the next development targets. We have summarized the result in a new evolution package – the RS Q e-tron E2.” This marks the start of the second part of the event program. In October, Team Audi Sport will put together for the 2023 Dakar Rally with the brand new prototype in Morocco.
Gentle within the air, gentle within the sand: the brand new physique
“The Audi RS Q e-tron E2 does not adopt a single body part from its predecessor,” says Axel Löffler, Chief Designer of the RS Q e-tron. In order to adjust to the prescribed inside dimensions, the cockpit, which was beforehand narrowly recessed in direction of the roof, is now considerably wider. The entrance and rear hoods have additionally been redesigned. “We are now doing away with the underflow of the rear hood to the left and right of the B-pillars. In conjunction with modified lay-ups, i.e. optimized fabric layers of the composite materials, this solution reduces weight,” says Löffler. The T1U prototypes must weigh 2,100 as an alternative of two,000 kilograms sooner or later. Given that the primary technology of the RS Q e-tron was chubby, it was nonetheless mandatory to save lots of a number of dozen kilograms. This is accompanied by the decreasing of the automobile’s centre of gravity.
The aerodynamic idea within the space of the physique under the hoods is totally new. This part is sort of paying homage to the form of a ship’s hull: its widest level is on the top of the cockpit, whereas the physique tapers considerably in direction of the entrance and rear. Audi has now disbursed with the a part of the fenders that was behind the entrance wheels and fashioned the transition to the door. Internally, this construction was known as the “elephant foot.” As a consequence, the designers saved more weight and optimized the air move. “The aerodynamic aspect should not be underestimated in desert rallying either,” says Löffler.
Admittedly, the brand new cockpit dimensions imply that the physique has a bigger and subsequently much less beneficial cross-section. Nevertheless, it was attainable to scale back the general aerodynamic drag by round 15 %, i.e. the product of the CD worth and the frontal space (A). This doesn’t change the highest velocity. It stays restricted to 170 km/h within the rules. Nevertheless, the improved air move affords one main benefit. “It further reduces the energy requirements of the electrically powered car,” says Löffler. “We implemented the aerodynamic calculations entirely using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).” These pc simulations exchange the time-consuming work within the wind tunnel and nonetheless ship extremely exact outcomes.
Even more environmentally pleasant: optimized power administration
The electrical drivetrain of the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 includes an power converter consisting of an inside combustion engine and a generator, in addition to a high-voltage battery and two electrical motors on the entrance and rear axles. Energy administration performs a vital function right here. The digital management system of the complicated electrical drivetrain proved its value within the first rally occasions. Challenges solely arose in excessive instances. At the Dakar Rally, for instance, Audi famous short-term surpluses of energy in conditions the place the wheels made much less contact with the bottom whereas leaping or on uneven terrain. The officers of the FIA, the world vehicle federation, intervene at a threshold of two kilojoules of extra power and impose sporting penalties.
“By way of comparison, more than one hundred times the amount of energy flows to the motors per second within the permissible limits,” says Florian Semlinger, improvement engineer for embedded software program, software and check bench. “We could have made it easy on ourselves and set our threshold several kilowatts lower, but that would have meant performance disadvantages. Instead, we put a lot of fine-tuning into the power controllers.” Two particular person limits – one for every motor – are actually recalculated by the software program inside milliseconds. As a consequence, it operates exactly alongside the permissible restrict.
The so-called auxiliary shoppers additionally profit from optimized management. The servo pump, the air con cooling pump and the followers have a measurable affect on the power stability. In the course of the debut season in 2022, the Audi and Q Motorsport rally workforce gained invaluable expertise that allows higher evaluation. Take the air-conditioning system, for instance: It works so aggressively that it may trigger the coolant to freeze when continuously operating at its most output. In the long run, the system will run in an intermittent mode. This saves power, but the inside temperatures solely fluctuate barely, even over longer durations. The working technique for the followers and the servo pump has additionally been optimized. For instance, the methods can now be regulated in a different way for the decrease hundreds on the liaison levels than on the particular levels.
Simplified operation: Ease of use within the cockpit and when altering wheels
The Audi drivers Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz can sit up for their new workplaces. The shows are nonetheless within the driver’s discipline of view and positioned within the centre console within the common type, and the central change panel with its 24 fields has additionally been retained. However, the engineers have restructured the shows and controls.
“The totality of all the functions quickly creates confusion,” says Florian Semlinger. “That’s why, for the first time, the driver and co-driver can now select from four system areas using a rotary switch.” The “Stage” theme comprises all of the features which are necessary whereas driving competitively – such because the velocity limiter in sections with velocity limits or the air jack. The “Road” half comprises, for instance, flip indicators and the rear-view digital camera, features which are typically in demand on the liaison levels. The “Error” choice is used to detect, categorize and catalogue errors. The “Settings” part consists of every part that’s helpful for the engineering workforce throughout testing or after the automobile arrives on the bivouac, for instance, detailed temperatures of particular person methods.
Crews can now work a lot more simply after a puncture. Simple, flat and simply detachable physique elements exchange the earlier cumbersome covers for the spare wheels within the flanks. The new ten spoke rims from associate Rotiform are a lot simpler to deal with. Drivers and co-drivers can grip them more simply and full the change more safely.
“We have combined all the important lessons in a very short time. The result of our ideas is the E2 evolution,” says Uwe Breuling, Head of Vehicle Operations at Audi Sport. “Our development team’s determined and cost-efficient work has prepared us perfectly for our second Dakar Rally.”
Following preliminary testing led by Arnau Niubó Bosch, Head of Test Engineering, Audi Sport unveiled the RS Q e-tron E2 in Neuburg an der Donau on September 1. From October 1 to six, the brand new expertise must show itself in competitors for the primary time on the Rally du Maroc. All three Audi driver pairings will then contest the desert rally that begins and finishes in Agadir, within the southwest of the North African nation.
Posted by Audi UK on Newspress
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