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Audi RS Q8

RS CAN IMPRESS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Audi's fastest SUV aims to re-write just what's possible for a car of this kind. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the RS Q8.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 71

Audi pushes on into six-figure territory with this RS Q8, targeted at those who come in search of the ultimate high performance luxury SUV. Its twin turbo V8 puts out 600PS, so this car is astonishingly rapid, but perhaps what's even more impressive if the way it can transmit its torque to the tarmac along a twisting road. Politically incorrect the RS Q8 may be, but it's still very desirable indeed.

Backgroundword count: 196

I'm not quite sure what your idea of the ultimate money-no-object performance luxury SUV might be, but it's quite likely that it has a VW Group-sourced twin turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8 beneath the bonnet. That engine's common to the Porsche Cayenne Coupe Turbo, the Lamborghini Urus and this car, the Audi RS Q8. The other potential contenders for your sizeable cheque in this segment are also V8s, the BMW X6M Competition and the Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupe 63S. All are extreme, all are very fast and all are difficult to justify in a world of melting polar ice caps. But I'm guessing that if you're reading this, you'd love to own any one of them. But why this Audi in particular? Well it's the fastest SUV around the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife racetrack (7m 42.253s if you're interested), so there are bragging rights with that. Perhaps more significantly, on paper at least, it's got more power than the Porsche, it's vastly more affordable than the Lamborghini and there's more technology than the BMW and Mercedes. Sounds promising. If for you, Audi's 507PS SQ8 isn't quite enough, here's an uber-fast Audi SUV that will really get your blood pumping.

Driving Experienceword count: 268

Let's start with that 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 petrol engine, which here develops 600PS, a little more than it does in the Porsche Cayenne Coupe Turbo and a little less than it does in the Lamborghini Urus. It's enough to somehow convey this huge 2.3-tonne SUV from rest to 62mph in just 3.8s and you'll need only around 10 seconds more to get to 125mph, on the way to a maximum (where unrestricted and only for the very brave) of 190mph. Drive is delivered via an 8-speed tipronic auto gearbox to a quattro 4WD system that can apportion up to 80% of torque to the rear (though 40:60-split front-to-rear is its usual setting) and to manage it all, there's an active torque vectoring limited slip differential. Lots more has also gone on to help handle all that power. You get a wider track (10mm more at the front and 5mm more at the rear) for a squater stance - and there are bigger brakes of course. And revised damper rates for the adaptive air suspension. Standard or optional depending on trim are two further features: a 48V anti-roll system and a four-wheel steer set-up that reduces cornering understeer and promotes the kind of turning ability you'd think would be impossible for a car of this size. There's the usual drive mode system and your favourite blend of attributes can be stored and summoned by pushing the provided RS button on the steering wheel which has two settings; RS1 (where perhaps you'd store your more laid-back settings) and RS2 (for when you want to select a more aggressive demeanour).

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Pictures (high res disabled)

Statistics (subset of data only)

Min

Max

Price:

£101,860.00

£119,660.00

Insurance group 1-50:

50

CO2 (g/km):

314

320

Max Speed (mph):

190

0-62 mph (s):

3.5

Combined Mpg:

20

20.5

Length (mm):

4986

Width (mm):

1995

Height (mm):

1705

Boot Capacity (l):

605

1755

Scoring (subset of scores)

Category: Crossover or SUV 4x4s

Performance
90%
Handling
80%
Comfort
80%
Space
70%
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

This is an excerpt from our full review.
To access the full content library please contact us on 0330 0020 227 or click here

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