Fast fashion
The RS Q8 is a rakishly roofed Q7 with a 592bhp kick. Faddy high-rise coupe SUV? Partly. But its talents run deeper than that
Viktor Underberg, an Audi veteran of 25 years recently put in charge of R&D at Audi Sport, is convinced of this RS Q8’s abilities – a car that shares its basics, after all, with the Lamborghini Urus. ‘But,’ he says, ‘I shall cry out if you overestimate your talent or underestimate a corner.’ Roger that. But even so, let’s set this thing on fire.
With 592 horses roaming the tight 4.0-litre V8 corral and 590lb ft of torque rattling its gates, our master stallion instantly parts Tenerife’s herd of rental-car ponies. The 2.3-tonner takes just 3.8 seconds to hit 62mph, 125mph flashes up a timewarp 9.9 seconds later, and with Drive Select in Dynamic, overtaking distances shrink to half-a-dozen car lengths and are more often than not completed in second or third gear.
Our car’s optional Dynamic Pack Plus deregulates top speed to 190mph from 155mph, but it’s not available at launch in the UK and isn’t so useful on a remote island hours from the nearest autobahn (or in Tenerife, boom, boom); but the carbon-ceramic brakes (unconfirmed for the UK), and quattro sport differential and active anti-roll control system (both standard here) certainly are as we carve up mountainous hillsides. The diff contributes to agility, while the active anti-roll improves the ride in a straight line by decoupling the split stabiliser bars (even on 23-inch rims it’s good) while at the same time reducing roll, yaw and pitch through fast corners. If you can, do spec these things.
Throw in a pronounced rear torque bias (up to 85 per cent) and standard rear-wheel steering and the RS Q8 remains flat and composed almost irrespective of corner radius, surface and speed, with just a trace of oversteer evident when exiting a bend on heavy throttle. More than anything, this car loves quick esses and multilane roundabouts built halfway up a mild slope.
But it’s not all about fast and furious action: air springs can raise the ride by 90mm to make navigating off-road tracks easier (though those 23s do look vulnerable) and you can shift the
driving characteristics between an overkill eight modes that include gentler Comfort, Balanced and Offroad settings, plus an Individual setting in which everything can be adjusted in isolation for the full Goldilocks. Handily, your two favourite blends can then be stored in the RS1 and RS2 shortcut buttons on the steering wheel.
Dislikes? Those optional brakes could do with more initial bite, less effort under full pressure and a later ABS interaction. The engine comes equipped with an electrically assisted charger to compensate for initial turbo lag, but despite this and other mod cons it doesn’t pick up eagerly enough from 2500rpm in second and third. The flow is more flawless in Dynamic, which encourages faster gearchanges, quicker throttle response and more involving steering action – but more fuel-e¥cient coasting is a no-go with the chips locked in this setting.
We know Lamborghini will be launching its Urus Sport, but could there be a brawnier RS Q8 Plus? Or a lighter one? ‘There’s a thought,’ says Underberg, smiling broadly and failing to cut the idea dead.