Dakar 2024: Audi Clinches Its First-Ever Win

At the recently concluded Dakar rally, Audi made history with its RS Q e-tron, by winning the gruelling rally with an electrified vehicle. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz helped Audi secure its first win, covering around 7,900 km with a lead of 1 hour and 20 minutes over Guillaume de Mevius. 

With this win, Carlos Sainz now has four Dakar rally wins and has become the oldest driver to win the rally. His previous wins were with Volkswagen, Peugeot and Mini. Sainz also has two world rally championship titles he secured with Toyota in 1990 and 1992. 

Carlos Sainz didn’t win any of the 12 stages of the Dakar rally but consistent performance and no interruptions since stage 6 helped the Spaniard bag his fourth title. Sainz said, "I am very happy for Audi, the many fans of the brand and my fellow countrymen. This victory means a lot to me. It’s my fourth victory with the fourth different brand. The team has developed a very special concept with which we are the first in the Dakar Rally. Only Audi was brave enough to take this risk.”

Head of Audi Motorsport, Rolf Michl, said, “That was an overwhelming team performance. Everyone pulled together to make this historic result possible for Audi” 

Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management Audi AG, said, “Audi has once again set a milestone in motorsport. Winning the world’s toughest desert rally with an electrified drive is a visible ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ and points the way to our electric future.”

The Audi RS Q e-tron has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine that acts as a generator and charges the 52 kWh battery on the go. Both axles get an electric motor each, producing 383 bhp (combined). The top speed of the RS Q e-tron is limited to 170 kmph due to regulations.