LORD OF THE RINGS
Audio system strictly switched off, car set in RS1 mode and eyes focused on the curves that guide us towards the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, a small and remote mountain pass that thanks to the variety of its bends alternating with faster sections is the ideal way to get closer to the performance limits of an engineering monster who has every intention of breaking the laws of physics.
Words by Alessandro Marrone / Photos by S. Lomax
Twelve, thirteen, fourteen … they seem to never end. I’m counting sheep, but my ultimate intention is to fall asleep. The engine mutters impatiently, my right hand half clenched on the steering wheel and partially open towards the paddle with the + sign, is ready for what will inevitably happen again as soon as the sheepdogs have gathered the flock and convinced it to clear the way. With the window down, I let the cool high mountain breeze enter that world of Alcantara, leather and carbon fiber that is the cockpit of the RS Q8, a car that you will find under the definition of a sports car and a weapon of mass destruction. Here are the last two and then the goofy latecomer giving me a look that is anything but friendly, accelerates its pace and finally puts the paws on the lawn. I move a few meters, just so as not to scare the whole flock and not attract the ire of the shepherd, just enough time to turn the corner and then let the roar of the V8 be discharged into the heart of the mountain. The following moment I am already a small gray dot that becomes more and more indistinct on the horizon.
The time has finally come to discover and understand if the RS Q8 is the fastest way for a family brawl with the ever-loved RS6 Avant, or if it represents an alternative for those who may decide to enter the world of the four rings but intend doing it with a different product than usual, but which for this reason does not lose the ability to be just as practical and useful from January 1st to December 31st. Looking at it from a distance and you could almost confuse it with a standard Q8, but get closer and you will begin to see one by one all the distinctive features that press it to the ground, that are a decidedly sporty set-up, large 22″ rims as standard, or the huge 23″ of our test model. The RS version also has a black front grille and logo, carbon fiber for the front splitter, mirror caps and for the rear diffuser, which also houses the two mammoth tailpipes. And then the best friends that you will have once thrown into the tortuous embrace of a mountain road, the 17.3” carbon-ceramic discs with 10 pumping pliers, fundamental for what is about to happen.
The mountains are SUVs’ territory, it seems obvious to me. Cars that can comfortably accommodate five people on board, a trunk of over 600 liters, four-wheel drive and a ground clearance able to allow some stops along the way, even where there are no paved lay-by areas. In the case of the RS Q8 everything is amplified to the nth degree and where we check all the boxes thanks to the four-wheel drive QUATTRO which in normal conditions is distributed in 40:60 between front and rear, it will be better that the five occupants have not had lunch yet, since they’ll move between the hairpin bends of the Col du Glandon like anything but a quiet midweek day away from the office. This courtesy of the 4-liter twin-turbo V8 that the RS Q8 shares with its sister RS6, a monster with 600 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque, in this case combined with an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.
But as you well know, the RS Q8 is mild-hybrid and in fact has a lithium-ion battery mounted in the luggage compartment and a belt-driven motor-alternator connected to the heat engine, which recover energy during deceleration and allow to “significantly” limit fuel consumption when coasting. Especially useful in fiscal terms, this is one of the many aspects that make the super-SUV here extremely advanced from a technological point of view, an aspect that is also reflected in the passenger compartment where almost all the controls are managed by the two touch screens between driver and front passenger. The system is more than complete, but sometimes these types of solutions can distract from driving. Not in this moment though, because if you decide to take advantage of the RS Q8 for what it was conceived, your last thought will be to adjust the connectivity with your smartphone or take a look at the music library.
Audio system strictly switched off, car set in RS1 mode, one of the two that can be customized and recalled using the appropriate button/shortcut located on the right spoke of the steering wheel and eyes focused on the curves that guide us towards the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, a small and remote mountain pass that thanks to the variety of its bends alternating with faster sections is the ideal way to get closer to the performance limits of an engineering monster who has every intention of breaking the laws of physics. These are moments made for driving and with a pretty heavy right foot, as the RS Q8 demonstrates how traction is now mostly poured to the rear axle, partly to limit understeer and partly to increase the pleasure of entering corners with a sincere doubt about coming out from that at such speeds. The large SUV is so pressed to the ground that it does not seem to suffer, not even the most sudden changes of direction, its 800 Nm of torque are then able to make it splash towards the next corner, just in time to launch with impetus on the indefatigable carbon ceramic brakes, set the bend and straighten up as the twin-turbo V8 barks like an air-hungry beast.
You can feel how the rear is held down to the ground, but the front remains planted where you had decided the moment before stepping heavily on the throttle, with a 0-100 kph in just 3.8 seconds a 0-200 of only 13.7 seconds, which is even more impressive, especially considering that you’re moving 2 tons and 390 kilograms, not counting the occupants on board and the 100 octane tank that – driving like maniacs – will not take long for forcing you to make friends with all the petrol stations around. If acceleration is disarming, what amazes me most clearly is the agility with which the RS Q8 manages to wriggle through corners, letting its dimensions never affect the overall driving dynamics. The gearbox, even if it is not a double clutch, is fast and precise and playing with the plastic paddles behind the sports Alcantara-crown steering wheel you immediately realize that despite it takes a short time to rev up and reach the limiter, the progression is continuous and incessant at least up to 6,000 rpm.
The RS Q8 has a steering rear axle, but as it is logical it also brings on the scales at least 200 kg extra compared to the RS6, an inevitable comparison for a completely new car and which seems to have no kind of problem at least to make us forget the most expensive and stylistically clunky Lamborghini Urus, with which it shares far more than you would expect. Comfortable and safe in the city and on wet asphalt, it really feels like Audi has created something that knows no bounds, not even where you usually would have preferred something stiffer, lower and without the need to have enough power reserve to power a country for days.
Time to eat some more switchbacks, noting how the weight is not perceived minimally even uphill and how descending from over 2,000 meters and heading towards the Col du Lautaret, the possibility of increasing the numbers on the speedometer shows how much the RS Q8 is glued on tarmac. Also thanks to the 295 tires at the rear, the set-up does not break down even when the asphalt proves to have suffered the severity of the previous winter and reaching absurd speeds seems easier than usual. In all this I remain clinging to the wheel, with the awareness that everything that is happening is entirely thanks to a car that is cutting edge from every point of view, something capable of distorting one’s vision of things and offering you a new concept of pure speed on heels. The exhaust emits a partly tame roar, underlining how Audi wanted to create an exaggerated product, but still sober and son of an understatement that wants and must facilitate the acceptance of a segment – that of SUVs – which is liked, but which in the collective it is still pointed out as superfluous, if not downright useless.
Personally I believe that outside of every label you have to give for placing a car within a list, it is much easier to divide something into the only two categories that really matter: the things we like and those we don’t. And this Audi RS Q8 not only pleases me, but it is also able to thrill, to scare for performance that rivals the R8 itself, but it does so without giving up the practicality of a coupe SUV with five seats, lots of space for luggage and the most beautiful play of lights you can find, thanks to the LED matrix headlights. Obviously this involves an equally important price to pay, starting at € 147,200 and that will go up further depending on how demanding you are as you start speccing your own piece of kit.
And if we go back to that constant buzz that after a few kilometers has been momentarily put aside – the comparison with the RS6 Avant – it must be said that in the end no one excludes the other, at least in the garage of dreams of a brand lover. Where the RS6 has now consolidated its leadership in the estate segment, the RS Q8 is decidedly more devoted to collect new ones, perhaps coming from the world of high-performance SUVs, or perhaps just by those who want something practical and incredibly fast, but still prefers to keep a less exasperated profile than you would with the Urus. The RS Q8 is one of those objects that gets in you even if you would have preferred it in another color, with a louder exhaust and a few more physical buttons on the central dashboard. It is the most absurdly useful car you could buy, also because after tasting its infinite grip and cornering speed capable of stirring the internal organs, you will understand that it should be seen more as a supercar suitable for the family, rather than a family car capable of hallucinating performance. Fair enough right?
The beauty is that it doesn’t end there. Having reached the Col du Lautaret, we turn left and climb one of the highest Alpine passes in Europe, the Col du Galibier. And here I decide to push myself close to the limits of common sense, for the showdown between a breathtaking road and the ultimate SUV.
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AUDI RS Q8
Layout – front-engined, all-wheel-drive
Engine – V8 cylinder 3.996cc – twin-turbo
Transmission – 8-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 600 hp @ 6.000 rpm
800 Nm @ 2.200 rpm
Weight – 2.390 kg
Acceleration – 3,8 sec.
Top Speed – 250 kph
Price – from € 147.200