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Audi took the Q8 e-tron and turned it into an all-electric off-road machine. The Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is optimized for adventurers who “want to drive off the beaten path electrically.”

The new Dakar edition is based on a Q8 advanced 55 e-tron quattro. It includes two electric motors and a 106 kWh battery for up to 300 kW power and 664 Nm torque.

Audi says the new off-road EV can hit 0 to 100 km/hr (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds and features up to 487 km (302 mi) WLTP range.

With Grabber AT3 all-terrain tires, the electric SUV gains 31 mm (1.2″) ground clearance for tackling any terrain. The tires are better fitted for handling loose surfaces like gravel and snow. The base model has 206 mm (8.1″) ground clearance. That’s slightly lower than a Jeep Wrangler (9.5″ to 10.8″).

The vehicle gradually lowers at higher speeds to improve driving stability and range. The off-road EV drops by 15 mm (0.6″) at 52 mph, 17 mm (0.7″) at 62 mph, and 13 mm at 75 mph (0.5″).

Audi-Q8-e-tron-Dakar
Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar with Mythos black metallic and special wrapping (Source: Audi AG)

Meet the new Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar off-road EV

With an approach angle of 20 degrees and a departure angle of 26 degrees, Audi says the Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is prepared to tackle “light off-road terrain.” Meanwhile, the wading depth is 11.8″ (300 mm).

Audi’s new off-road edition EV is reminiscent of the RS Q e-tron designed for the Dakar Rally with a unique raised chassis and optional decals.

The Q8 e-tron edition Dakar is available in Siam Beige metallic, Mythos Black metallic, and Magnetic Gray.

Audi-Q8-e-tron-Dakar
Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar with Mythos black metallic and special wrapping (Source: Audi AG)

An optional projection light in the Singframe creates a light strip between the headlights. When the driver’s door is opened, added projection lamps show the words “edition Dakar” on the street.

You can also add a decal package inspired by the RS Q e-tron. However, the body color must be Mythos Black metallic, and it will be limited to 99 units.

Inside, the S line is standard. The package includes contoured sports seats, a multifunction sports steering wheel, black roof lining, stainless steel pedals, and more.

A head-up display replaces the screens, projecting info on the windshield. Audi included special MMI backgrounds, including images and coordinated lightning. The vehicle includes three scenes: desert storms, tire tracks, and a dune landscape.

Audi’s new Q8 e-tron edition Dakar (Source: Audi)

The off-road Q8 e-tron comes with eight tires. Although it comes fitted with General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tires for enhanced off-road grip, it also comes with a set of 20″ wheels with a 5-V spoke design.

Audi says the Q8 e-tron edition Dakar will be available to order in the first quarter of 2024. Prices will start at around $131,000 (120,000 euros) in Germany. The off-road EV likely won’t make the trip overseas to the US.

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Electreon and Xos to deploy wireless charging for commercial EV deliveries like UPS in Michigan

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Electreon and Xos to deploy wireless charging for commercial EV deliveries like UPS in Michigan

The State of Michigan has announced a new partnership with wireless EV charging specialist Electreon and Commercial EV manufacturer Xos, Inc. Together, the companies have secured funding from the state to expand wireless charging availability for commercial vehicles, including UPS trucks in Detroit.

It’s been nearly a year since the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the City of Detroit, and Electreon ($ELWS) unveiled the first wireless EV charging roadway in the United States.

Michigan installed Electreon’s wireless inductive-charging coils (seen below) on 14th Street in Detroit between Marantette and Dalzelle streets to charge EVs equipped with Electreon receivers as they drive on the road.

At the time. MDOT and Detroit officials said the road would be used to test and perfect Electreon’s wireless EV charging technology in a real-world environment before “making it available to the public in the next few years.”

While the public will not be able to take advantage of wireless charging just yet, commercial EVs are gaining access thanks to a new partnership between Electreon, Xos ($XOS), and the State of Michigan.

  • Michigan wireless EV charging
  • Michigan wireless EV charging

Michigan progresses as US wireless EV charging leader

When Michigan announced the first wireless EV charging road in the US last year, officials shared hopes that the Great Lakes State and the city of Detroit could become leaders in the innovation and and deployment of such nascent technology.

Following a press release from Electreon, the State of Michigan confirmed details of the new partnership, which now includes commercial EV developer Xos, Inc. as well. The new commercial partnership is supported by $200,000 in funding from the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP), building off the state’s “Make it in Michigan: economic strategy, developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to invest in the state’s people, places and projects. 

Through the partnership and coinciding state funding, Electreon will extend its wireless EV charging network and use cases in Michigan. Additionally, Electreon’s technology will be integrated into delivery step vans from Xos in order to “demonstrate wireless charging technological value and its potential to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) in the electrification of commercial truck fleets.” Stefan Tongur, vice president of business development for Electreon, elaborated:

We’re excited to demonstrate how Electreon’s technology can optimize electric fleet usage and showcase the seamless integration of wireless charging into daily fleet operations, minimizing downtime and enabling charging across time and location. We’re proud to do this work in Michigan, a state fostering innovation and sustainable transportation solutions.

In addition to expanding wireless charging on Detroit’s first “electric roadway,” the Michigan project will enable the installation of stationary wireless charging at a UPS facility in Detroit. Xos co-founder and CEO Dakota Semler also spoke:

We are proud to partner with Electreon and support UPS to demonstrate the potential of wireless charging in commercial fleets. This innovative approach will revolutionize how we power our electric vehicles and drive fleet electrification forward.

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Here’s our first look at Jaguar’s new luxury electric 4-door GT [Images]

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Here's our first look at Jaguar's new luxury electric 4-door GT [Images]

The iconic British luxury automaker is undergoing a major brand overhaul. With its official debut around the corner, Jaguar’s electric 4-door GT, the first of its new series, was spotted testing on British roads. The new images give us a closer look at what we can expect from the revamped Jag brand.

Jaguar’s new electric GT makes its first appearance

After building internal combustion-powered sports cars for over 75 years, Jaguar will become an all-electric luxury brand from 2025.

The company announced earlier this year that it will start fresh with an entirely new range of EVs. After killing off the F-Type, E-Pace, XF, and soon the F-Pace SUV, we are finally getting our first look at what the new branding will look like.

Jaguar’s new electric 4-door GT was caught testing on British roads. The camouflaged prototypes reveal a radically different look than the Jag models we are accustomed to.

You can see one of the biggest changes is the low-riding, extended silhouette, as opposed to the crossover SUV and sedan models like the F-Type and I-Pace, Jaguar’s first EV.

The front and rear bumper designs also appear much more aggressive and bold than previous models.

Jaguar's-electric-GT
Jaguar electric 4-door GT prototype (Source: Jaguar Land Rover)

Jaguar’s electric GT is being put through the paces ahead of its debut. It has already completed tens of thousands of testing miles (virtual and real-world) and will soon hit public streets worldwide.

The new model will be built in Solihull, UK, where Jaguar recently ended production of its gas-powered models.

Jaguar's-electric-GT
Jaguar electric 4-door GT prototype (Source: Jaguar Land Rover)

It will be the first to ride on Jaguar’s new JAE (Jaguar Electric Architecture), which will underpin its upcoming lineup of high-end luxury EVs with prices over £100,000 ($130,000). The electric GT will have a range of over 434 miles (700 km) and upwards of 575 hp, making it Jaguar’s most powerful car of all time.

Jaguar will debut its Design Vision Concept at Miami Art Week on December 2, 2024. Next Summer, it’s expected to make its official global debut ahead of deliveries in 2026.

What do you think of Jaguar’s new design based on what’s shown? Are you excited about the brand overhaul? Let us know in the comments below.

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Tesla pushes end-to-end neural networks for highway driving, but only for newer vehicles

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Tesla pushes end-to-end neural networks for highway driving, but only for newer vehicles

Tesla has pushed a new (Supervised) Full Self-Driving update with the promised end-to-end neural networks for highway driving.

However, it’s only for newer vehicles.

“End-to-end” is what Tesla refers to as neural net-powered AI driving the vehicle from vision to controls rather than the controls being explicitly coded. It’s already the case in all widely released versions of (Supervised) Full Self-Driving (FSD) for city driving, but not for highway driving, which uses another software stack.

Tesla originally planned to deliver it for highway driving in October, but it was only delivered to a small number of vehicles.

In its latest AI roadmap, Tesla said that it would come the first week of November instead.

Now, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of self-driving and AI, said that the latest release with end-to-end highway driving (v12.5.6.3) has been widely pushed to HW4 vehicle owners:

With the latest release (v12.5.6.3), FSD is using end-to-end neural networks for driving across highways, city streets and parking lots, and has now shipped widely for AI4 vehicles. Highway driving should be smoother, more natural and even safer than the previous explicit control stack. Check out the different driving styles to set speed and lane change preferences. Enjoy and let Tesla AI know if you have any feedback.

However, there’s no word for the millions of HW3 vehicle owners.

In fact, the only thing promised to HW3 vehicles, which Tesla now called AI3, in its last roadmap is this:

Improved v12.5.x models for AI3 city driving

As we have often reported this year, Tesla has reached the limits of the HW3 computer and now needs to optimize the code with every release despite still being far from its promise of unsupervised self-driving.

Electrek’s Take

This is annoying cause I could really use end-to-end on my HW3 car. I am on v12.5.4.2 and it has been a regression from v12.5.4.1 for me, especially on highways.

Yesterday, it almost drove me off-road when taking my highway exit, which is always a bit shaky because it is a short exit and FSD often swings itself into it. It’s a bit awkward, and my girlfriend never likes it, so I disengage FSD before taking the exit when she was with me, but this time, she wasn’t, and I had the new update.

It again swung left before going right into the exit, but this time, it went way too far, and I was in the shoulder by the time I took control.

I took this exit hundreds of times with FSD and it’s the first time it did that.

I am starting to think we won’t see much more improvements to FSD with HW3 cars and there’s no retrofit computer in sight.

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