Earth moving

The new RS Q8 performance marks a particular high point for the Audi brand, becoming the most powerful petrol-powered production model (try saying that quickly) in the company’s history. It represents the apex predator even in the RS Q8 ranks, which also contains the ‘standard’ RS Q8 with its 440kW and 800Nm, but tops that with a stonking 471kW and 850Nm of torque that accelerates the big SUV from rest to 100km/h in an astonishing 3.6 seconds.

And yet, despite its impressive size and even more impressive performance figures, the RS Q8 performance is a sophisticated and elegant vehicle when it’s not defying physics being driven at the limit.

“The RS Q8 performance combines everyday practicality and sporty attributes like no other vehicle,” says Roland Waschkau, a 25 year veteran of Audi’s chassis development department and someone who has been intimately involved with the brand’s most impressive performance models in that time.

Brute power is all well and good, according to Waschkau, who numbers the the Audi R8 among his many projects at Audi, but when making use of that power, a level of finesse is vital, and that’s where the RS Q8 performance shines.

“Thanks to the adaptive air suspension sport that is supplied as standard, the RS Q8 performance is, in my opinion, an almost perfect companion, whether on long highway stretches or on the Nordschleife.”

Indeed the suspension combination makes for a vehicle with agility that belies its physical size and the fact that it is also a luxury SUV with every conceivable inclusion for passenger comfort and safety.

Equally as impressive as the vehicle’s enormous power output and torque is the optional electromechanical active roll stabilisation (eAWS) which plays a significant role in its ride and handling.

"The eAWS really comes into its own on the winding country roads,” says a grinning Waschkau.

“In combination with the all-wheel steering, it noticeably reduces the turning circle.”

The system all but eliminates body roll regardless of speed, with both axles connected between the two halves of the stabiliser by a compact electric motor. 

When the vehicle is driving in a straight line, the two halves are decoupled, which delivers the stability and silky ride quality, but when the vehicle is thrown into tight bends, the electric motors twist the stabilisers against each other, giving an incredibly planted feel and meaning the big SUV defies physics and corners dead flat. 

"Depending on the driving mode, the ride is either comfortable or very sporty with virtually no body roll,” Waschkau enthuses. 

The drive energy for the eAWS comes from a 48 V lithium-ion battery and the compact, lightweight energy storage unit, which can absorb and release high currents very quickly, supplies the two electric motors with a maximum output of 1.5 kW each.

Whether on the mountain roads of Montserrat or at the ParcMotor Circuit in Castellolí, Spain's only racetrack in the shape of a figure eight, the RS Q8 performance shows its versatility and ability to take anything that is thrown at it with aplomb.

With seven right-hand bends and four left-hand bends, the ParcMotor Circuit is a technically demanding course and while the blistering acceleration is put to good use, the vehicle’s top speed of 305km/h is simply too much here and is not permitted at the 4.1 kilometre circuit. 

"The superior performance of this vehicle is not only evident on the ParcMotor Castellolí," says Waschkau. "The lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife of 7:36.698 minutes speaks for itself,” he says, referring to Audi Sport development driver Frank Stippler’s record-breaking drive around the treacherous Nürburgring Nordschleife in June this year.

It is not only the high-displacement engine that is responsible for this record time, but also the standard RS ceramic brake system and the all-wheel steering with high-torque electric spindle drive. These elements, working with the aforementioned eAWS and the quattro sport differential make for a powerful combination that turns a fully equipped luxury SUV into a race car.

"The quattro drive ensures the ideal distribution of drive torque between the front and rear axles. Thanks to eAWS and the sport differential, it [the RS Q8  performance] is extremely agile and neutral through a wide range of cornering radii here on the racetrack," explains Waschkau. 

Although he has had a hand in so many high-performance Audi Sport vehicles, the sheer power of the 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 never fails to impress.

"On the ParcMotor Castellolí [track] as well as in the mountains, you notice the finely tuned interplay between the drive, chassis components and all-wheel steering,” he says.

“The RS Q8 performance is an almost perfect compromise between everyday usability and extremely sporty attributes, and it also sets the bar very high in terms of sound,” says Waschkau.

“The newly developed and weight-reduced exhaust system not only enables the higher performance of the RS Q8 performance thanks to back pressure reduction, but also ensures an even sportier and more emotional sound. The RS sports exhaust system, available as an option, provides a further enhanced sound experience and stands out visually with its shiny black tailpipes.”

Roland Waschaku, visibly satisfied with the work of the entire team, parks the RS Q8 performance in the pit lane of ParcMotor Castellolí and leaves the track. He has to get back to Neckarsulm to get started on his next performance project. For Australian performance enthusiasts wanting to experience the otherworldly capabilities of the new RS Q8 and RS Q8 performance, they will not have to wait long, with new models expected to arrive Down Under in the first half of the new year. Pricing and specification for the Australian market will be confirmed ahead of their arrival.