words: Bill, photos: Codemasters
Several of our chapters are dealing with the pandemic by challenging each other in virtual racing and now there’s a new choice for them…racing off-road with their favorite manufacturer. Dirt 5 was released on November 6th and Audi is represented by three different models.
The Audi TT Safari was created in 2019 by a group of Audi trainees for Wörthersee and it’s a one of a kind. It’s in the Rally GT section racing against the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4, BMW M2 Competition, Fiat Abarth 124 Rally, Ford Mustang GT4, Lotus Exige R-GT Rally, and the Porsche 911 RGT…stiff competition.
Next is the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro. Unlike the TT Safari, it is not a concept. In real life, it raced in the World RX Supercar (FIA World Rallycross Championship) with the Swedish team, EKS RX. In Dirt 5, it’s obviously in Rally Cross section competing against the MINI Cooper SX1, Peugeot 208 WRX, Megane R.S. RX, Subaru WRX STI RX Supercar, and the Volkswagen Beetle Rallycross.
The last Audi is also a concept; the Audi AI:TRAIL quattro. This is the future of off-road. It was shown at the IAA 2019 and is equipped with 4 electric motors and of course, quattro. You can find it in the Pre-Runners group alongside the Aston Martin DBX, Cadillac Escalade PreRunner, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison, Ford F-150 Raptor PreRunner by Deberti Design, Ford F-150 Raptor, Mitsubishi e-Evolution, and the Porsche Cayenne Transsyberia. I think I’m looking more forward to this one.
Dirt 5 is available for the PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/Series S, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Google Stadia. While the pandemic may have you cooped up in the real world, you can escape into the virtual world in the Audi TT Safari, the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro, or the Audi AI:TRAIL quattro. Happy trails.
