New Audi Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar Is A Rugged, Off-Road-Ready EV SUV

The new Audi Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar breaks cover as a jacked-up, off-road-ready version of Audi’s flagship EV SUV.

There’s a new ‘Dakar’ special model in town, and it is quite different from the enigmatic Porsche 911 Dakar we saw last year. Dubbed the Audi Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar, this all-electric SUV boasts some serious additional features that transform it from an urban-dwelling peoplemover into a proper off-roader.

Based on the dual-motor Q8 e-tron 55, the Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar gains inspiration from the RS Q E-Tron, a purpose-built Dakar rally car that's clinched four stage wins during its inaugural Dakar Rally 2022 season.

As a result, this EV SUV gains a lift kit that sees its ground clearance increased by 31 MM, which eventually translates to better approach (20 degrees) and departure (26 degrees) angles, plus a 300 MM wading depth. Moreover, its air suspension setup has also been tweaked for better off-roading performance, while customers will get an additional set of off-road wheels shod in General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres, aside from the standard road-biased ones.

While these improvements are somewhat tame compared to the actual Dakar racer, the Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar still looks the part. Aside from its more rugged body kit, this Dakar-inspired EV SUV also features a wider track, a functional roof rack that supports up to 40 KG of load, and an optional graphics package; the latter is limited to only 99 units. Alternatively, standard hues like Magnetic Gray, Siam Beige, and Mythos Black are also available for customers.

The Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar gets the same dual-motor AWD setup as its donor, the Q8 e-tron 55 Quattro

On the powertrain front, the Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar gets the same dual-motor AWD setup as the stock 55 model, outputting 402 HP (300 kW) in boost mode. On a paved surface, this EV SUV can blast from nought to 100 KM/H in 5.8 seconds, though said time is stretched by 0.1 second when equipped with the off-road wheels. Besides century sprint time, the dirt tyres also shorten the Q8 e-tron’s maximum EV range from 531 KM on normal road tyres to 487 KM.

With orders already opened for its native Germany market, the special Audi Q8 e-tron Edition Dakar is on sale at €120,000 (RM608,206), which expectedly boasts a slight premium over the standard Q8 e-tron’s asking price. Regardless of pricing, Audi hopes that this rugged EV SUV will pave the way for more off-road-ready electric SUVs to come out in the future.