Audi’s brief three-year stint competing at the Dakar Rally surprisingly ended with a victory last year as the German automaker shifted its focus and resources to its upcoming Formula One works program. Unsurprisingly, many of the uncompetitive RS Q e-tron rally prototypes were disposed of once the Dakar program was shuttered. The No. 224 Audi from the debut 2022 Dakar surfaced in an illegal dump in Czechia earlier this week.
The Audi RS Q e-tron was driven by Mattias Ekström, with Emil Bergkvist as the car’s co-driver. The No. 224 was the highest-placed of the three Audis with a ninth-placed finish. It was the factory team’s best Dakar finish until its 2024 victory. For those who don’t remember, the RS Q e-tron was an all-electric monster. The prototype buggy was fitted with three Formula E motors. Two units were mounted to each axle and produced 562 horsepower. The third motor was mated with a turbocharged 2-liter inline-four to create a screaming energy generator.
At some point, significant portions of the No. 224 were brought across the Czech-German border and dumped at an illegal site within a protected nature park, Road & Track reports. Truck drivers brought 230 tons of waste to the former sawmill near the village of Jiříkova, including pieces of aviation fiberglass, wind turbines, car parts, circuit boards and batteries. Shipping documentation claims it’s all basic plastic stick. Jiříkova mayor Barbora Šiškov told local news outlet Seznam Zprávy:
We also found a piece of a special car that drove in the 2022 Dakar Rally. We found that it was a special Audi hybrid, driven by Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist, and they finished ninth. This car must have cost millions of euros to develop. Audi management paid the German company Roth to scrap the car and it ended up with us. Including the license plate.”
Audi confirmed that Roth International is part of its supply chain and reiterated that it abides by strict environmental guidelines. The German automaker is currently conducting an investigation in respect to its compliance processes. Audi, along with the rest of the Volkswagen Group, understandably takes its environmental impact seriously after it was embroiled in the worst emissions-cheating scandal in history.