Following the recent launch of the Audi SQ8, there is now one more high-performance variant to look forward to: the range-topping RS.
Our spy photographers first snapped the upcoming RS Q8 during testing over 12 months ago. Ingolstadt’s engineers continue to develop the high-performance SUV and recently hit the Nurburgring in a roaring prototype with very little camouflage and sounding every part as monstrous as you would expect an Audi Sport model to sound.
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Sources tell us that the RS Q8 will be powered by a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 an engine already put to good use throughout the VW Group family. The Lamborghini Urus is currently the range-topping performance SUV in the German group’s stable, pumping out 641 hp and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) of torque. It is unlikely Audi will be allowed to step on the toes of the Urus, so it will be likely de-tuned to somewhere nearer the 600 HP mark. Make no mistake, however, the RS Q8 will still be extremely fast – plus, it will cost quite a bit less than its Italian cousin.
This particular prototype features camouflage across its front and rear bumpers as well as across the side skirts and wheel arches. We know the SUV will receive larger air intakes than those of other Q8 models, including the SQ8, as well as a bespoke rear bumper.