PROOF THAT PHYSICS CAN BE BULLIED

Audi has taken 2.3 tonnes of metal, given it 631 horsepower, and told Newton to take the day off

- SANEET DSILVA

You get the polite nods at Christmas, the condescending pats on the back, and the half-hearted “Good for you” when announcing an achievement. That has always been the plight of the Audi Q8. While its siblings, the Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne, and even the Bentley Bentayga, have been out setting lap records, scaring pedestrians, and generally making a spectacle of themselves, the Q8 has been left holding the coats.

But this isn’t just any Q8. This is the RS Q8 Performance, the most powerful petrol Audi ever, and the biggest, baddest SUV Ingolstadt has dared to build. It costs just under two and a half crore rupees (ex-showroom), and in return, you get a machine that holds the record for the fastest SUV lap at the Nordschleife, clocking in at 7 minutes and 36 seconds. In India, it goes wheel to wheel with the BMW X5 M, Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, and the Porsche Cayenne.

Of course, on paper, the sceptics will say the same old things. That it’s not as wild as the Urus, sharp as the Cayenne, or aristocratic as the Bentayga. But what exactly does it do? Let’s find out.

The RS Q8 Performance shows up with intent. It’s still a Q8 at heart, with its frameless glasshouse and crisp, geometric intersections harking back to Audi’s Quattro roots. But where the standard model is a well-mannered executive, the RS Q8 Performance is the one who's just returned from training at the Nürburgring and thats where the details differ.