I remember in 2019, I had the opportunity to experience the Audi flagship SUV Q8 for a few days, and it felt like it interpreted the comfortable experience that a flagship SUV should have, but the performance gene was still a bit unsatisfactory. That same year, the "ceiling" RS Q8 of the Audi Sport series refreshed the fastest lap of a production SUV in the Nürburgring Nordshorn, with 7:42.243.
At that time, I wondered if the Audi RS Q8 would still be the same as the Audi Q8. Keep the comfort level of the flagship SUV model, and then adjust the performance gene more obviously? At the end of 2021, I finally completed the test drive of the fastest production SUV in the Nürburgring.
This car gives me the feeling, from the product level, Audi adjusts this RS Q8 very balanced; from the technical level, the 48V light mixing system is the core of the support balance behind it.
After all, it is a flagship, and the design cannot be "partial"
To ask the Audi RS Q8 in the design of the Audi Q8 is different, the overall did not adjust too much, but the front and rear surrounds widened by 10mm, this wide body design in its body is not too obvious to be reflected.
On the contrary, the black light bag of this test drive is very eye-catching, and the grille, mirrors, brand LOGO and body are filled with this black treatment of decorative parts. On the body, you can only find two "RS" signs, at the front and rear of the car.
As a high-performance SUV, the test drive features a 23-inch rim, which is full enough and the visuals are absolutely outstanding. But even more impressive is the combination of 17.3-inch carbon-ceramic brake discs + 10-piston calipers behind the rim, which on the one hand provides the same excellent braking performance for powerful power on the other hand. As for the two designs of frameless doors and slipback shapes, the improvement of vehicle performance is very limited, and such designs are more for the service of visual effects and to earn enough return rates.
The design of the car is the same as the outside of the car, there is little change, pull the car door you will first be attracted by a large area of carbon fiber material decoration + fur material, the sports atmosphere has been set off, but did not reach the ultimate feeling. The RS logo you can find in the car is not much, the steering wheel buttons, the bottom of the steering wheel, the seat and other places have the corresponding RS logo, but the design is quite low-key.
From the styling design, you can predict one or two, this Audi RS Q8 is not blindly to the "ultimate performance" of this aspect of the development but the pursuit of performance and luxury balance, even if Audi has the strength to play the performance of this car to the extreme, but as a flagship SUV it can not "excessive" performance but pay more attention to balance. So, from the design level, I can understand that it can't be biased.
If you have the ability, take advantage of the fact that you have a V8 now
Previously, when test driving the Audi Q8, although it was Audi's flagship SUV, Audi did not equip the Q8 with a V8 engine, but only "stingily" equipped with a 3.0T V6 engine.
Of course, the better powertrain still has to be left to the higher performance flagship Audi RS Q8, which is the same 4.0T V8 engine as the Lamborghini Urus. This 4.0T V8 twin-turbo engine, 600 horsepower + 800 Nm of torque, without too much to say can also feel its sufficient power reserve from the listed data, the official 0-100km/h acceleration performance is 3.8 seconds.
In the choice of transmission, Audi still loves the 8AT, which even the RS Q8 has not changed.
This 4.0T V8 twin-turbo engine, which can be traced back to the original 4.2-liter naturally aspirated engine, now represents the most advanced technology of Audi and even Volkswagen. The engine was also used in bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and the Audi RS Q8, which was test-driven. This engine on the Audi RS Q8, there is also a 48V light mix system, in the high-performance car to install 48V light mix?
You might think this is illogical, but the 48V Mix on the RS Q8 is primarily aimed at the powertrain, not to provide power, but to optimize the efficiency of the entire powertrain. The most intuitive feeling is that in addition to the exhaust sound when starting and stopping, you can start and stop without feeling, and in the speed range of 55-160km/h under low load, the engine will turn off and slide when lifting the accelerator pedal. In order to better optimize the efficiency of the engine, this engine also has a closed cylinder technology, which can shut down the 2, 3, 5 and 8 cylinders under low load conditions, allowing the vehicle to drive in a 4-cylinder state. If you need power, press the accelerator pedal again and the engine can quickly return to 8-cylinder operation.
In the few days of "owning" this car, whether it is following the car, the red light at the intersection or the taxiing on the highway, you can feel the friendliness conveyed by this 48V light mixing system and experience the changes brought about by this state-of-the-art engine. In this era, when talking about large-displacement engines, it is a sentence of "if you have the ability, take advantage of the present to have it."
The best Audi RS to get started, not too much
When I first got the test drive, I first opened the hood and peeked at the V8 engine, full of expectations for the next test drive of the car. This car gives me the feeling that this is probably the best Audi RS model to get started.
Pulling open the rimless doors, sitting in the car and holding the steering wheel to start the engine, there was a muffled sound from the exhaust, but it seemed to me a bit low-key. The good NVH of the whole car filters the exhaust sound layer by layer, so the exhaust sound transmitted to the inside of the car will appear low-key; but if you are outside the car, it is easy to be attracted by the sound of its ignition.
When you press the "RS" button on the steering wheel, the dashboard and exhaust sound will change, as if to remind you that "it's time to go". Driving this car is gentle enough every day, even if there is a powerful V8 engine, but the output of the entire power is very linear, the controllability is also very high, as long as you treat it gently, it will definitely get along with you in a meek manner.
The degree of tacit understanding between the engine and the 8AT transmission is very high, and the performance is smooth enough, don't worry about its shift smoothness, when you accelerate downshift you can only feel the feeling of pushing back to press you against the chair. In most of the normal driving sections, I feel that the logic of the gearbox adjustment of this car is still more inclined to the family, and the acceleration response will slow down a little, but if you do not open it carefully, you really can't experience it.
In RS mode, you can hear the exhaust sound after each foot lightly stepping on the throttle, and if you feel that you are not enjoyable enough, you can step on some deep and you can still hear its tempering sound. With each acceleration, I want to try its limit state more, Audi RS Q8 can also give you the confidence to transmit power at speeds above 100km/h, but the road speed limit suppresses this idea, and it is a pity that I could not test drive this car on a closed road/track.
The last part of the Audi RS Q8 driving, talk about its suspension and steering, one about whether the car is comfortable, one about whether the car can interact with the driver. The car's curves have a lot of support, so that the roll of the vehicle in the corner is greatly reduced, which is unexpected, perhaps because of the active anti-roll bar of the 48V hybrid system.
On the other hand, from the steering wheel to the feel, you can also roughly feel that this car is not as sporty as RS 6/RS 7, but takes into account the needs of daily driving, easy to get started, feel unsinkable This is to let most people accept, perhaps it is this "not distinct" feeling of steering adjustment, let me feel that this has become a regret of this Audi RS Q8.
summary
Standing on the product level to talk about audi RS Q8 it puts sports performance and car comfort, the combination is very good, in the course of a few days of driving, comfort is greater than sports is to give me feelings.
Seriously, if you live in a big city, whether it is you or the occupants of the co-pilot, you will have a "bad" mood for such a car. But the Audi RS Q8 will not, after all, in terms of technology, the V8 engine has optimized the engine efficiency better, so that this car will bring you more happiness.
Before I test-drove the Audi RS Q8, I was full of fantasies about its V8 engine, looking forward to what kind of driving experience it would bring. But now that expectation has been erased, not because of the car, but because I'm too impetuous and I like the driving atmosphere that keeps the passion alive all the time. The Audi RS Q8 is more like a domesticated "beast", fierce but at the same time very easy to control.