CLIMB #04 | COL DU GALIBIER

AUDI RS Q8

The RS Q8 is now a bullet launched into a giant rock creature with its mouth wide open, it is swallowed in a hairpin bend and then comes out even more angry the following moment, firing one gear after another and trying to scratch the impassive indifference of a peak that is getting closer.

 

 

 

WELCOME TO THE MACHINE

Words by Alessandro Marrone / Photos by S. Lomax

The kilometers along the D1091 that crosses La Grave are the smoothest you could wish for once through the primordial embrace of the mountains. The road is wide, in almost perfect conditions and with the possibility of overtaking the extremely scarce traffic that hardly crowds the area at the first light of day. There are fast corners that take on the appearance of a single pull, an incessant sprint towards those peaks that, with the passing of minutes, get closer and closer thus imposing their presence even more impressively, creating an almost completely bare rocky horizon, like those previewing a memorable climb. It is no coincidence that this is a legend for the world of international cycling and as talking about curvy roads, the Tour de France has always offered fantastic ideas to sports cars and curves obsessed.

Another titan of the Alps, the Col du Galibier, is there waiting for us with a different climb from all the other passes, making you start from the summit of the Col du Lautaret (2,058 meters), as if to emphasize how it does not intend to be a child’s play and trust that it sets the record straight from the very first kilometers. The first sign confirming this is an adventure in which to throw head down and with maximum focus comes very soon, when the traffic vanish completely and the only noise to pierce the silence of a still numb mountain basin from sleep is the 8-cylinder of our RS Q8. The masters of the four rings from Ingolstadt must have thought of situations like these when they decided to take the SUV on top of their list and turning it into something that would be able to keep moods that with any other sports car would be prohibitive, especially here where the all-wheel drive Quattro is an integral part of a providential mechanical effort able to keep the gas down, when a precipice with no apparent bottom stands a few centimeters from its enormous tires.

 

 

 

Literally clinging to the Alcantara steering wheel, I am aware that almost all the merit here goes to the car and not to myself, since I’m wondering if the confidence in the grip put into play in the fastest corners is not too much of an optimistic game. A succession of twisty bits still wide enough to allow the 4-liter to unleash its 600 horsepower, brushing out corners worthy of a Sunday track-day. The exhaust roars and mumbles and every time we rush into the hairpin bends that become more and more pronounced, the carbon-ceramic braking system is always ready to prevent the over 2,300 kg of weight from penalizing a driving dynamics that seems coming from another world. Not even in the most sudden changes of direction it seems to move from that imaginary track on which you would have liked it to stick and this does nothing but instill the necessary confidence useful to abandon every remote sign of the civilized world and launch into the belly of a lunar landscape, however still full of summer luxuriance, thanks to a day that has recently welcomed a splendid sun placed in the heart of a blue sky similar to that of a postcard.

 

 

 

The Galibier is undoubtedly one of the most coveted Alpine passes, precisely because unlike others it does not seem wanting to give any possibility to enter into intimacy with its wild territory. When you think you have reached a familiar point, maybe on which you have driven 365 days ago, you turn the corner and find that the time has not yet come. And so you drive some more, stepping hard on the throttle and realizing the immense effort taking place under you. The RS Q8 is now a bullet launched into a giant rock creature with its mouth wide open, it is swallowed in a hairpin bend and then comes out even more angry the following moment, firing gears and trying to scratch the impassive indifference of a peak that is getting closer. At the Chalet du Galibier we turn tight on the right and take the last couple of remaining switchbacks from the much sought-after summit, where the spot created in front of the inevitable sign that establishes the highest point of the road is already besieged by cyclists and bikers who have come this far to add a notch to their abacus of Alpine conquests.

 

 

 

For us it’s different, I get out of the big Audi SUV perfectly rested and I start to look around trying to scan the northern side that will lead us to Valloire, for an even more intense blast that definitely takes on the appearance of a place where you want to lose yourself and spend more than the time allowed for a simple escape based on horses and petrol. Many people approach the RS Q8, finding nothing but the logo of the four rings and so they end asking about the model, especially when I turn the engine back on in Dynamic mode, with the two tailpipes that make clear how this is not the most obvious choice for the typical family with children. Just a couple of minutes for two quick words, to rattle off some of the shocking technical specifications of our behemoth and Steve has already left with the second car, ready to crouch somewhere a few hairpin turns ahead and do what he does best, which incidentally is not entertaining long talks with cyclists or self-proclaimed photographers scattered near the summit.

 

 

 

A quick look on both directions, right foot once again extremely aggressive on the gas and I just can’t get over the ballistic acceleration of this car. It is like seeing an elephant leading the Formula 1 Grand Prix, with the difference that the RS Q8 is also equipped with comfortable seats with excellent restraint and a navigation system with 3D satellite maps and audio system that can put to shame the decibels you get at an AC/DC live concert. The only music I want to hear when we are busy on these kinds of roads is the one the V8 plays in its frantic and fast race to the red line, something that with two turbochargers and 800 Nm of torque is addictive and keeps haunting your dreams for a long time. The most amazing aspect of the RS Q8, however, is not only brute power, that blind acceleration that presses you to the seat and launches you to that point that until a moment ago was close to the horizon. The dynamic set-up is pure poetry, not like those cheesy and tear-jerking ones, but rather a hymn to the engineering magnetism that keeps the body of the large SUV pressed to the ground, accelerating and cornering like possessed by black magic.

 

 

 

The topographical conformation of the Col du Galibier is certainly not the kind that allows you to put a car to the limits of its capabilities, but if you have enough courage, trust in the car in your hands and a pinch of healthy madness, the north side is all worth driving here for. The asphalt ribbon remains surprisingly smooth and the excellent visibility offered by the northern descent encourages me to push some more, identifying that point of no return that makes a driving experience a moment of pure and total intimacy with that object of desire called car. It doesn’t matter if it has a more pronounced ground clearance than an RS6, or if it’s wider, longer and heavier than the first dozen models that come to mind when you think of a curvy road and a strong dose of adrenaline with a 100 octane scent, because in this case Audi did not take the now iconic wagon (yep, the RS6) and put it in the clothes of the (RS) Q8, but created the fiercest SUV that ever existed, for sheer power, grip, braking and a look accentuated by huge 23-inch wheels for an object that, thanks to its absurd skills, touches the limits of motoring fetishism.

 

 

 

Tomorrow we will most likely be struggling with Friday traffic, frantically searching for a parking space in front of the grocery store. Tomorrow all this will be just another incredible memory. This is why you have to live today and take everything you can from a day that is as long awaited as it is ready to be coveted again on next year’s calendar. Many more photos and gallons of petrol later, our stomachs beg to stop for a quick packed lunch, so we take advantage of the increased ground clearance of the RS Q8, demonstrating that after all this is still an SUV and park the car into a gravel area at the side of the road, in what is most likely the most panoramic point we could find. In the almost surreal tranquility of the early afternoon and surrounded by sharp and pristine mountains, the ticking of the exhaust is almost an echo of that rough symphony that still echoes in the valley and although I had already realized the car’s performance in the previous days of testing, it is in contexts of this kind that you can really tune into a car and divide the good ones from the great ones.

 

 

 

This Audi does not fit into any existing category, perhaps precisely because it takes every label and tears it to shreds with a power that does not ask for permission and is always ready to kick you in the back, surprising for how a mastodon of this type and with an aspect that ultimately does not have clear references to its extreme dynamic skills, is able to do well everything you ask. It all comes down to how the driver intends to exploit it, acting on a simple button located on the steering wheel and going to recall the more sly or the most primordial nature of a hyper-SUV (oh yes, it’s hybrid as well) that rewrites the rules of the game exactly as the RS6 did years ago in the panorama of estates under the influence of hallucinogens.

 

 

 

The sun’s rays begin to lengthen the shadows, it’s time for the very last photos, the last fly-bys and with the fuel gauge ready to lit in the middle of the virtual cockpit, it is also time to set aside the RS1 mode and let the more civilized aspect of this very special Q8 works its way under the muscles, cuddling us on our way back home. The third giant of the Alps has been conquered as well, but if you are wondering where is the difficulty in getting here and driving on a perfectly paved road, I think it is important to explain that this is not what we mean. Conquering a mountain pass stands for making it yours, becoming part of the road, of the mountains and at the same time letting this magnificent place take a piece of you and keep it until your comeback. It is a relationship of mutual respect, of perfectly reciprocated love that takes on different forms in each of us. This is why it is important to do it the right way, because only like that all the pieces fit together and make the moments indelible, exactly like the images that from today have enriched our album of memories and where the RS Q8 has proven to be the ideal car as well as the best adventure partner, the ultimate conquering machine for high altitude emotions.