Audi’s Dakar prototype found in an illegal landfill

The Audi RS Q e-tron that took part in the Dakar Rally three years ago has been discovered lying in a landfill near the town of Jiříkov in northwestern Czechia.

According to Seznam Spravy, the newspaper reporting on the discovery, the all-electric buggy was apparently stripped down to the frame and discarded along with some other industrial waste.

Making matters more bizarre is the fact that the landfill is illegal and resides in a protected natural preserve. A criminal investigation has been launched, so whoever dumped Audi’s rally racer there could be facing a multimillion euro fine.

Piloted by Mattias Ekström in 2022, the prototype EV with the starting number 224 came ninth to the Dakar Rally finish line, the best result ever achieved by the Audi racing team. Just who would get rid of the winning car like that and why remains a mystery.