Ducati and Audi will participate in a special event with the new DesertX and RS Q e-tron
Ducati and Audi have teamed up to participate in a special event in Sardinia with the most highly anticipated motorcycle of 2022, DesertX, and the German brand’s rally prototype.
The new Ducati DesertX and the Audi RS Q e-tron took centre-stage in the first test reserved for the international media, which could also count on the presence of Danilo Petrucci, winner of a stage of the Dakar 2022, and the official Audi drivers/co-drivers Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel, Edouard Boulanger, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz.
To celebrate this event, the Centro Stile Ducati has created an exclusive livery for the DesertX inspired by that of the RS Q e-tron. This special bike was ridden by Petrucci, who put on a show together with the Sainz/Cruz pairing on a technical off-road track (see the video below).
Andrea Ferraresi, Centro Stile Ducati Director: “When we saw the RS Q e-tron for the first time, we couldn’t help but imagine it in action among the dunes and rocks together with the DesertX. This event gave us the opportunity to do so and so we decided to create an exclusive livery, inspired by the colours and graphics of the Audi prototype. Seeing cars and motorcycles together off-road is truly a great show. The collaboration between the two brands and between their respective Design Centers is strong and important“.
The 2022 Ducati DesertX arrives with a design reminiscent of Rally bikes, with a slim body and a very vertical windshield. According to the brand, it is a contemporary interpretation of the 80’s Enduro motorcycles, with criteria of essentiality and robustness.
It is a bike made mainly for off-road, with a steel trellis frame, long travel suspensions and large wheels, 21″ at the front and 18″ at the rear.
Just to exemplify, it is equipped with fully adjustable Kayaba suspensions, 46 mm USD at the front with 230 mm of travel, and monoshock at the rear, with 220 mm. With this set, plus 21″ spoked wheels at the front and 18″ at the rear, the DesertX has 250 mm of ground clearance, allowing it to face the worst off-road environments.
The model has a liquid-cooled 937 cm³ V2 Testastretta EURO5 engine, capable of generating up to 110 HP of maximum power at 9,250 rpm and 92 Nm (9.3 kgfm) of torque at 6,500 rpm.
The RS Q e-tron is Audi’s rally prototype to tackle the desert and embodies the purest efficiency. The innovative electric drive with high voltage batteries and energy converter pushes the limits of what is possible.
The RS Q e-tron made its debut in the 2022 Dakar Rally last January and impressed with four stage victories, while in March it achieved his first overall victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Audi factory driver Carlos Sainz underlined the importance of the model for the motorsport program of the German manufacturer: “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. All the media were impressed throughout”.
The new DesertX, which since its presentation has met with remarkable success, will be available in all European dealerships in the Ducati network from the end of May. The new model is also available in a 35kW depowered version for A2 license holders.
Anyway, for more information, access https://www.ducati.com/gb/en/home.
photos: Ducati