Audi RS Q8

Like the exterior, the interior of the Audi RS Q8 is based on the standard Q8 SUV’s cabin. Here, the RS Q8 gets a perforated Valcona leather package with honeycomb stitching, along with a grey-themed RS styling package, which accentuates the sporty appeal of the SUV.

The Audi RS Q8 features a 3-spoke flat bottom sport contour leather steering wheel with shift paddles, behind which it gets Audi virtual cockpit plus with additional RS layout. The centre console here gets a twin screen layout in a slanted manner – while the upper screen is for infotainment, the lower screen is for adjusting the four-zone automatic climate control and other in-car functions, including Audi drive select.

The cabin of the Audi RS Q8 is furthermore premium and rich in feel with features like a panoramic sunroof, premium Bang & Olufsen audio system, 12-way electric front sport seats plus with electric lumbar support and memory for the driver, electric sunshades for the rear side windows, manual sunshade for the rear window, head-up display, powered and temperature-controlled front seats and more.

The Audi Q8 is already one exclusive-looking SUV with its large dimensions and a dramatically sharp look. The RS Q8 pushes the envelope one bar up with its cosmetic tweaks, which are minimal over the standard Q8, but altogether change its personality to a more performance-oriented SUV with a sporty appeal.

At the front, the Audi RS Q8 comes with a hexagonal grille with glossy-black honeycomb mesh inserts and the Audi logo and thick surrounds. The upper edges of the grille are flanked with large and sharp HD Matrix LED headlamps, which feature dynamic light design and dynamic LED turn indicators within them. The front bumper of the RS Q8 looks aggressive with the large air vents on the sides and a wide glossy-finished splitter running across its width.

The side profile of the Audi RS Q8 remains largely unchanged over the standard Q8, save for a new design for the 23-inch alloy wheels, which get a five-spoke rotor-style, anthracite black, and diamond-turned pattern. The side profile of the RS Q8 has a slightly coupe-like profile, with sharply raked A and C-pillars, coupled with frameless doors, muscular haunches over the rounded wheel arches and satin silver finished rearview mirrors.

The rear profile of the Audi RS Q8 looks sharp with edgy lines flowing across the width of the boot lid, along with an LED light bar, which joins the large and wide-looking LED tail lamps. There are vertical, slim air vents below the outer edges of the tail lamps, while the rear bumper gets a huge diffuser and honeycomb mesh inserts, along with large rounded exhaust ports on either side.

The Audi RS Q8 is one sporty SUV in its driving mannerisms, thanks to its performance-centric mechanical enhancements. This SUV comes equipped with an RS sports exhaust system, RS dynamic package plus RS steel brakes with red brake callipers, quattro permanent all-wheel drive with sports differential, adaptive air suspension – sport, and performance SUV tyres by Pirelli P Zero.

The Audi RS Q8 comes with a different and more powerful 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine under its hood, over the Q8. Paired with an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, this engine develops 600 PS of power and 800 Nm of torque. With this powerful engine offered as standard, the RS Q8 is capable of covering the 0-100 kmph sprint in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 250 kmph.

While the Audi RS Q8 is rich with all the basic safety essentials like airbags all around, ABS with EBD, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree parking camera, hill start assist and hill descent control, it also comes with a wide array of features under its ADAS suite of aids.

The Audi RS Q8 takes on the big-wigs of high-performance SUVs with its sleek and dynamic looks, powerful V8 engine and all the sporty enhancements to its chassis while undercutting them all in terms of pricing, making it a terrific value for an SUV of its cadre. However, it is still one expensive SUV in general.