Audi and Ducati are Here with Dakar-Equipped RS Q e-tron and DesertX Models

What’s more exciting than a lot of suspension travel and loose surfaces? Of course, there’s a lot of power in there. Audi and Ducati have done just that with their new RS Q e-Tron and DesertX vehicles, which were recently unveiled at an off-roading event in Sardinia, Italy.

Audi and Ducati outfitted their infants in identical black liveries and let them free on a dirt track. Both models claim off-road capability, and the RS Q e-Tron has already established a rally reputation. After a rough start at the Dakar Rally in January, the vehicle won its first overall race in March at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The car’s 50.0-kWh battery is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-four from Audi’s RS5 Turbo DTM car, which produces 671 horsepower and is driven by Formula-E electric motors at each axle. On loose roads, the steel tube chassis weighs just over 4400 pounds and promises a 0-60 mph pace of fewer than 4.5 seconds.

Audi Factory driver Carlos Sainz said, “What Audi has achieved with this concept is technically unique and a real benefit for us drivers, the event in Sardinia was great to communicate the benefits of the electric drive.”

The DesertX from Ducati, on the other hand, is a first for the iconic sport and touring motorbike brand. While Ducati is no stranger to adventure touring and scrambler markets—the DesertX even won the Turkish Transanatolia Rally in 2020—it is a commitment to the off-road market. Ducati has large shoes to fill, competing against benchmarked favourites like Honda’s Africa Twin and KTM’s 890 Adventure R.

Ducati is on the right track with a 21-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear wheel. The 937cc Testastretta L-twin engine, first seen on the Hypermotard 939, will power the 445-pound DesertX. The narrow-head engine makes 110 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque. Everyone but purists will be pleased with the six varied riding modes and four progressive power settings. Ducati intends to establish that the rally-pod headlamps and skid plate are more than just a stylistic exercise, with 9.1 and 8.7 inches of front and rear suspension travel, respectively, and nearly 10 inches of ground clearance.

The DesertX will be available in the United States in June, but European retailers will have it by the end of May. The DesertX will cost $16,795, which is somewhat more than direct competitors like the Africa Twin and Husqvarna’s new Norden 901. However, the DesertX’s riding impressions remain to be seen, and the bellow of an 11-degree L-twin is hard to surpass.