► Limited-run, off-road-spec Q8 e-Tron
► Knobbly tyres and lifted suspension
► Silly, but surprisingly capable
Never mind Porsche. If anyone has dibs on jacking up a car, fitting knobbly tyres and calling it Dakar in 2024, it’s Audi.
So much so that the brand has done exactly that. It’s created a limited edition version of the Q8 e-Tron electric car and thrown the Off-Roading for Dummies book at it.
Wait, what? A proper off-roading EV?!
Yes. While this Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is a more literal nod to Audi’s wild range extender RS Q e-Tron built for the Dakar rally, the more important part is the sub-text. Audi’s design boss, Marc Lichte, has already confirmed that the brand is planning a rugged EV off-roader to tackle the Land Rover Defender and upcoming Mercedes EQG, so think of the edition Dakar as both amuse bouche for a tougher strain of Ingolstadt DNA and dry run for engineers tasked with delivering it.
Under the skin it’s a 55 e-tron quattro (the product people didn’t want to add more weight and cost to the triple motor SQ8), and while the under-bits are neither more durable nor more protected than standard, the wheel arches are widened 57mm to cover the rubber and even giving the air suspension 65mm more stretch in the new Offroad mode required 70 or so new components.
Standard specification includes Matrix LED headlights and an S line interior gets the familiar (and excellent) sports seats in a Dinamica microfibre and faux leather mix, plus new rubber mats and graphics on the MMI infotainment system that range from the functional (how much you’re tilting) to the decorative (desert landscapes).
Performance remains unchanged with a peak of 402bhp in boost mode from two electric motors and you still get a huge 114kWh battery, but the official range drops from an S line’s 310-348 miles to 281 miles, in large part because the chunky rubber was fitted for WLTP testing, not the more conventional 20-inch wheels and tyres that Audi supplies as a spare set. In reality, though, range takes even more of a punishment than Audi’s claims if you’re going to drive this how it should be driven.
Speaking of: how does the edition Dakar drive?
Audi clearly says the edition Dakar is for ‘light off-road terrain’, but I manage far more than that driving it in Oman. Much of the credit is down to extra ground clearance and highly specialised off-road rubber, of course, but e-all-wheel drive lets me creep up steep, loose inclines at snail’s pace and the new hill-descent control setting means I can maintain a set speed without dabbing at the brakes.
In a high-speed convoy, I’m controlling the edition Dakar more with suggestions than demands as it floats and dances over the loose surface. Air suspension knocks the sting out of the ruts for a surprisingly refined ride, and I tweak the pointy steering and lift the throttle to easily adjust the e-tron’s cornering attitude. Add in the awesomely grippy tyres and punchy e-motors to either pull it out of slides or help set up a nice four-wheel drift for the corner beyond and it’s actually a nicely balanced, comfortable and highly effective combination. Much of the time I simply forget I’m driving an EV – it’s just fun.
The drive helps moderate some of my initial cynicism even if I’m always aware – especially faced with larger rocks – that there isn’t a massive amount of substance to the edition Dakar, but it’s hard not to wobble when you park it up in this environment – there’s the raised ride height, spare wheel on the roof rack for an appropriately camel-like silhouette and General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres with tread so chunky the 18-inch alloys could be wearing crocodile hide. Add in our car’s rally-car-inspired wrap (war paint for a 99-unit limited run) and I find it unexpectedly appealing.
The route does highlight weaknesses, though: one car in our convoy snags a rock on a steep descent, damaging its cooling system, and we’re encouraged to keep the speed up over deeper sandy sections to avoid getting stranded (no locking diffs or low-speed transfer cases will rescue us here).
Water splashes we cross are also pretty modest and not only because Oman is so parched – the Q8’s wading depth is limited to 300mm due to the battery, which is way below a Defender’s 900mm, not to mention all the approach, departure and breakover stuff (21, 19 and 28 degrees respectively).
Verdict: Audi Q8 e-Tron edition Dakar
Audi’s off-road-spec Q8 e-Tron looks the part and is more capable off-road than it really needs to be. It’s fun and quirky, if largely irrelevant for the UK – so much so that Audi’s not committed to any right-hand drive production or even an UK imports. But that future all-electric Defender rival means we’ve not seen the last of its kind just yet.
