It may not be as desirable as the Lamborghini Urus, but the Audi RS Q8 certainly ticks all of the right boxes. At $114,500 excluding freight versus $218k for the Italian sibling and $128k for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, one could argue that the four-ringed automaker also offers better value.
The question is, can the RS Q8 perform on the blacktop as well? Thanks to a series of quarter-mile runs uploaded by the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube, the answer is pretty obvious. Yes, the Audi can slay in bone-stock form under the hood and with the standard rubber shoes.
First time out on the strip, the gentle giant launches harder than a Cadillac CTS-V and keeps a small advantage over the super sedan until the finish line. The race ended in 11.629 seconds at 120 mph for the RS Q8 versus 11.771 seconds at 121 mph for the supercharged V8-engined contender.
Next up, a Kia Stinger GT that appears to be factory original couldn’t stand a chance against that Porsche-developed twin-turbo V8 that develops 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. At 11.375 seconds and 120 mph, the RS Q8 has also improved on the previous run against the Caddy.
The third and final challenger is a Cummins straight-six turbo diesel-powered Ram 2500 HD, which is a pretty rare sight at the strip. 16.090 seconds at 81 mph for the heavy-duty pickup is alright, and the same can be said about the 11.4-second and 120-mph run of the Audi without ignoring how different these two are from each other in almost every area imaginable.
As it’s the case with other RS models, the Q8 in this specification also knows how to ride, corner, brake, and handle like a champ. Active roll stabilization, carbon-ceramic brakes, a sporty rear differential, customizable driving modes, and all-wheel steering are only a few of the highlights that have to be mentioned, along with a record-breaking Nurburgring lap time.
At 7 minutes and 42 seconds, the RS Q8 is the SUV king of the Nordschleife as opposed to 7:47 for the Urus and 7:49 for the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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