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With 631bhp, the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre petrol V8 beneath the bonnet of the new Audi RS Q8 is the most powerful combustion engine ever offered in an Audi Sport model, eclipsing the 621bhp tune of the same engine in the RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback.

Given that there’s no electrical hybrid boost here, it’s a pleasingly old-school achievement worthy of some celebration – even if you might prefer Audi Sport’s most potent engine to be offered in a fast estate or coupé, rather than a hulking great big 2.3-tonne SUV.

Even if the power hike keeps pace with the 628bhp BMW X6 M Competition and 626bhp Range Rover Sport SV, you might wonder why. After all, the 592bhp offered in the standard RS Q8 is enough for 0-62mph in 3.8sec and for us to describe it as ‘physics-bashing’. Well, if you could strap Albert Einstein into this Performance version and give him a hot lap of the Nürburgring, where the RS Q8 Performance has just set a 7min 36.698sec SUV lap record, he might start questioning his theories.

Verdict

Audi RS Q8 2024 review front tracking 17623

Model tested:

Rating:

Audi RS Q8

Good

Hugely powerful with a potent V8

Physics-defying manner makes it amusing to drive

Pleasing Audi quality to interior

Bad

The world probably doesn't need a super-powered, super-size SUV

You'll remember it weighs 2.3 tonnes when you brake

Fuel economy is predictably low

DESIGN & STYLING

Pros

Has neat Audi Sport touches without overdoing it

Purposeful stance

Quattro design touches are present and subtle

Cons

Audi Sport design touches can't mask the SUV bulk

Buyers of the Performance version might wish for more differentiation

Audi RS Q8 2024 review front tracking 16980

There’s a fair bit going on with the RS Q8. Underneath its aggressively enhanced Q8 skin (the legendary Group B S1 quattro is said to have influenced the go-faster add-ons, although you’d be hard pressed to see the similarities) is an upgraded Audi SQ8.

Out goes that car’s diesel engine, replaced by the same twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol that serves in the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and Lamborghini Urus. Even in standard form it it delivers 592bhp and 590lb ft (That’s more than the Porsche, but less than the Lambo). There’s also a 12kW starter-generator that gives the unit mild-hybrid status, plus cylinder deactivation.

Drive is transmitted to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic to four-wheel drive that can channel up to 80% of the torque to the back axle (40/60 front to rear is the default setting) and is equipped with an active torque vectoring limited slip differential.

Suspension modifications run to a wider track (10mm front and 5mm rear), revised damper rates for the adaptive air suspension and the option of a 48V anti-roll system that’ll be familiar to Porsche and Bentley owners. Our car was fitted with this kit alongside optional 23-inch alloys (21s are standard), although the 295mm width of the tyre is the same regardless of wheel diameter. There’s also four-wheel steering (standard on the flagship Vorsprung), which can turn the back wheels up to five degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speed, and 1.5 degrees in the same direction above 37mph.

For the very light mid-life facelift, the car retains a similar front-end to before, with some minor change to the grille and new matrix LED headlights. Meanwhile, the beefy rear diffuser gains new design touches, while wheels range up to 23in in size.

The 628bhp Performance range-topper is the headline addition to the mide-life facelift for the RS Q8 – and the major change is that bumped-up output. There are a few exterior styling tweaks to make it look a touch beefier, including to the front grille and rear diffuser. It features bespoke matrix LED headlights and optional lighter 'motorsport-inspired' 23in alloy wheels (a different 23in design is offered on the standard model).

INTERIOR

Pros

Typical Audi class and quality

Plentiful amount of space for the family

Cons

Possibly a bit too refined for this market

We'd like more physical buttons

As you'd expect from an Audi, the cabin is spacious and classy with the same wall-to-wall TFT screens, plus there’s plenty of room for five and a usefully large boot. Indeed, while the RSQ8 is an 'SUV-coupe' with a sloping rear roof, the sheer size of the machine means that few will notice the sacrifice in practicality from the boxier Q7.

For the mid-life facelift the interior is largely untouched: there’s a new Alcantara-clad steering wheel, and the gear selector (mounted in the centre console) now comes covered in Dynamica microfibre. Still, given there wasn't much to complain about,you can't blame Audi for taking things lightly. We would, of course, like some more physical controls.

The Performance version only has a few minor design touches to set it apart from the standard version, largely some extra RS stitching. If you select one of the optional design packages you can gain red, blue or grey colouring on certian interior surfaces such as the seats. But that’s fine, because it’s still imbued with typical Audi class and refinement and there’s plenty of space. You perhaps sense the firm has wisely opted to keep things minimalist and refined: in this space any buyers wanting a touch of threatre would likely be drawn towards the likes of the Urus.

One interesting change is that Audi has actually reduced the amount of insulation in the car, letting in more of that mighty V8 engine sound.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Pros

Almost EV-like in its acceleration and power

V8 engine produces a raucous noise

Cons

Hard to really extra potential given car's size

Once the compressors are really boosting above 2000rpm the V8 fires the RS Q8 along with a deep-chested, relentless energy, while in Dynamic mode the twin exhaust’s subtle baritone is enhanced by some pops and bangs on the overrun. And while the optional carbon ceramic brakes suffer from a dead patch at the top the pedal travel when you’re pootling, work them hard and they deliver powerful, fade-free and easily modulated retardation. If there’s a criticism of the drivetrain, it’s that the eight-speed auto can slot home ratios a bit jerkily in its most aggressive mode.

With its extra 39bhp, the Performance has a 0-62mph time of 3.6sec (when assisted by launch control), while the limiter is removed for a top speed of 174mph. Under hard acceleration, the car feels every bit as fast as the figures suggest. Torque is up from 590lb ft in the standard RS Q8 to 627lb ft, and it can be fully accessed from just 2300rpm.

Plant the throttle and you will feel and hear it: that accelerative force may be almost EV-equallingly strong, but the rumbling soundtrack leaves you in no doubt there’s some serious combusting taking place just ahead of you.

RIDE & HANDLING

Pros

Uncanny handling for a large SUV

Ride is decent and has a pleasingly desire to push on

Cons

Steering can feel a little numb

So big you can't really engage like a true driver's car

Perhaps more striking than the brute force is how poised the RS Q8 Performance remains. The eight-speed automatic gearbox is aided by the active torque vectoring that can send up to 80% of the available torque to the rear axle (the default split remains 40/60), and while the steering still lacks a bit of feel and finesse, it’s well weighted and gives you the confidence to attack corners.

It’s the four-wheel steer that sets the tone for the RS Q8, its ability to quickly rotate the rear of the car to quell understeer helping deliver agility that simply shouldn’t be possible for a car of this size and weight. Regardless of driver mode – there are a bewildering array of settings, some of which can be stored and saved for quick access via a steering wheel-mounted RS button – the steering is fairly mute. But the rack is quick and the weighting is reassuringly hefty, plus there’s plenty of turn-in bite, allowing to commit to the apex with real confidence.

With the rear steer getting you pointing staighter sooner, you can get on the throttle earlier and exploit the double whammy effect of that torque vectoring diff and four-wheel-drive traction.

The anti-roll wizardry plays its part too, helping keep things on an even keel and under cast iron control. It’s not fun and engaging in the normal sense and you feel that the systems are doing a lot of the work, but it’s hard not to giggle a little at the vast RS Q8’s ability to deal with corners and changes of direction with near hot-hatch poise and agility. It doesn’t mess about on the bits in between, either.

It’s only when you need to brake hard that you’re reminded you’re in a 2.3-tonne machine, but even then the carbon-ceramic brakes (standard on the Performance) cope admirably well with the challenge presented.

The active air suspension and anti-roll system mean the Performance laughs at minor imperfections in the road, and even though the ride is always a bit stiff, ease back your driving manner and it’s still a refined, premium SUV. Although even in its softest setting there’s an underlying firmness to the ride.

A big one, though: you won’t forget its size on narrow and twisting roads. If anything, it feels even bigger than its 5.0m length.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Pros

Undercuts several more powerful rivals on price

Cons

Fuel economy is around 20mpg in the real-world

There are two ways of considering the RS Q8 Performance when it comes to price and runnings costs, and it really depends on your perspective.

At £135,550, the Performance costs £15,000 more than the standard RS Q8. Given that the lower-spec model is already plenty fast and powerful enough, we question whether that’s a price worth paying – but you also have to consider that both versions undercut most of their class rivals – some of which are less powerful to start with.

Various packages are available, although the RS Q8 line-up is refreshingly light on options. The £148,250 Carbon Black trim adds the 23in wheels, OLED lights and matt carbon elements. For £154,900, Carbon Vorsprung trim adds a glass roof, more ADAS and USB-C ports in the rear.

If you're buying a large V8-powered SUV you probably wouldn't expect running costs to be a major selling point - and the RS Q8 is going to burn a good amount of petrol. In standard form it has an official mpg of 21.7, while the more powerful Performance actually improves that to 21.9. In our first drive on Spanish roads we could just about get to around 20mpg.

VERDICT

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating:

Audi RS Q8

Good

Hugely powerful with a potent V8

Physics-defying manner makes it amusing to drive

Pleasing Audi quality to interior

Bad

The world probably doesn't need a super-powered, super-size SUV

You'll remember it weighs 2.3 tonnes when you brake

Fuel economy is predictably low

Given its size and mass the Audi RS Q8’s dynamic abilities are frankly outrageous, and while it’s not cheap it undercuts all of its less powerful rivals. And with the Performance version you can add an extra whack of power for a not overly burdensome step up.

Yes, you can easily argue cars like this represent conspicuous consumption of the worst kind and, in the RS Q8’s case, it’s hard to fight its corner in the fast family transport stakes in the face of the quicker, cheaper and more spacious RS 6.

Yet as a physics-bashing engineering achievement, it’s hard not to admire the RS Q8. It packages a good amount of Audi class, both in its comparatively subtle exterior and classy interior, and unlike some of the firm's models it's so inherently exaggerated in both conception and execution that it can be enjoyable daft fun.

That 21.9mpg official fuel economy serves as a reminder that this really isn't a sensible machine, and if you were to sit down and really thinking through it's hard to suggest that the RS Q8 Performance makes rational sense.

Then again, the Performance has as much disdain for rationality as it does for physics.

James Disdale

Title: Special correspondent

James is a special correspondent for Autocar, which means he turns his hand to pretty much anything, including delivering first drive verdicts, gathering together group tests, formulating features and keeping Autocar.co.uk topped-up with the latest news and reviews. He also co-hosts the odd podcast and occasional video with Autocar’s esteemed Editor-at-large, Matt Prior.

For more than a decade and a half James has been writing about cars, in which time he has driven pretty much everything from humble hatchbacks to the highest of high performance machines. Having started his automotive career on, ahem, another weekly automotive magazine, he rose through the ranks and spent many years running that title’s road test desk. This was followed by a stint doing the same job for monthly title, evo, before starting a freelance career in 2019. The less said about his wilderness, post-university years selling mobile phones and insurance, the better.

James Attwood

Title: Associate editor

James is Autocar’s associate editor, and has more than 20 years of experience of working in automotive and motorsport journalism. He has been in his current role since September 2024, and helps lead Autocar's features and new sections, while regularly interviewing some of the biggest names in the industry. Oh, and he once helped make Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets.