Performance with a Capital P

Not as Audi put it, though. Just like quattro, which it has, the RS Q8 performance also has that in spades, but uses a lowercase nomenclature. We take the most powerful Audi Q model ever around town and go round the outside for good measure

- Jim Gorde

RS” ARE TWO LETTERS WHICH TOGETHER mean rennsport or “racing” or, in simpler terms, a very good Audi car to drive. It doesn’t matter if it's a tiny little RS 3 or a TT with a five-cylinder engine, or a 2.3-tonne V8-powered mammoth SUV. It will go like a rocket, corner as if it is on rails, and re-arrange your internal organs while, simultaneously, widening the smile on your face with each blaring note from the exhaust's symphony: pops, crackles, bangs, blats, and all. It’s easy to forget that the Q8 is a large vehicle. And it’s easy to get ahead of oneself, too.

The RS Q8 is the high-performance version of the Q8 premium luxury SUV. Unlike the seven-seater Q7, the Q8 was designed to be a coupé SUV and have an edgy design and character. And it isn’t a class of one, let’s be honest. I could go ahead and call this one the RS Q8 Performante and get away with it.