Audi RS Q8 Performance review: Iron fist, meet velvet glove
Performance SUVs are going from strength to strength, despite tightening emissions regulations and a divisive image. From the Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX707, to the Range Rover Sport SV and Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, Premier League players have never been so spoiled for choice.
OK, it’s easy to dismiss hot SUVs as ostentatious ways for footballers to dispense with their wages. But that does a disservice to the level of engineering that goes into creating two-tonne-plus family holdalls that can challenge a supercar for speed.
Audi Sport has thrown the kitchen sink at the RS Q8 Performance, including adaptive air suspension, active anti-roll bars, torque vectoring and rear-wheel steering. It brings big power to the party, albeit with a price tag that starts on the far side of £140,000.
More power than an Audi R8
Audi has not discontinued the regular 600hp, £125,000 RS Q8. However, following a recent facelift, the Performance now acts as the flagship model for the range-topping Q8 SUV.
Given the relative closeness between the two cars on price, opting for the standard RS Q8 almost feels like turning down the volume at a Metallica concert. A rapid SUV like this deserves – and demands – going all-out.
Besides, common sense goes out of the window as the RS Q8 Performance fires into life. A staple throughout the Volkswagen Group, its booming 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 develops 640hp and 627lb ft of torque here. For comparison, the now-departed Audi R8 V10 supercar produced a maximum of 620hp.
SUV style, NASCAR soundtrack
With launch control engaged, the all-wheel-drive RS Q8 Performance will slingshot itself from 0-62mph in just 3.6 seconds. And it will keep ramming through its eight automatic ratios until a 174mph maximum.
Experiencing the RS Q8 Performance at full throttle is truly visceral, your brain struggling to equate such aggressive acceleration with a high-riding SUV body. Or indeed the NASCAR-like soundtrack coming from the upgraded sports exhaust.
Unleashing the full 640hp is endlessly addictive, with overtakes possible in the blink of an eye. At times, it can almost feel too much for narrow UK roads, demanding a degree of restraint about when to deploy the RS Q8’s firepower.
Thankfully, carbon ceramic brakes are standard on the Performance model, with huge 440mm discs up front and 370mm items at the rear. Their stopping power is as effective as you’d hope in an SUV that weighs more than 2,300kg, helping to inspire plenty of confidence.
Heavy car with a light touch
The Performance can be equipped with 23-inch forged alloy wheels that feature a Y-spoke design said to aid brake cooling. Saving 5kg per corner doesn’t make this a lightweight sports car, though.
Instead, Audi Sport has given the RS Q8 Performance the chassis technology to manage its considerable mass. This starts with adaptive air suspension that, when in Comfort mode, does an incredible job of absorbing bumps and broken tarmac – even on those huge wheels.
Slotting the RS Q8 into Dynamic mode brings added firmness, along with dropping the big SUV closer to the ground. Alternatively, selecting Auto mode lets the car decide the best level of suspension compliance to suit the road.
From the ’Ring to the ring road
The Q8’s active anti-roll bars have an even greater effect on ride and handling, using 48-volt motors to alter their stiffness almost instantly. They aid ride comfort when travelling in a straight line, but tense the car when cornering to keep everything as flat as possible.
It takes some adjusting to, as you enter a corner subconsciously bracing for body-roll that never comes. Naturally, it cannot completely offset the RS Q8’s bulk and ride height, but only the tightest of corners will start to deliver any real lean.
Combined with steering that generates a surprising amount of feel, and added nimbleness from the rear-wheel steering, the RS Q8 Performance can be a sharp tool to hustle along. Indeed, it became the fastest SUV to lap the Nurburgring circuit in Germany.
Inside the Audi RS Q8 Performance
On the inside, the RS Q8 Performance looks similar to the standard Q8 SUV, with a smattering of special touches for this flagship model. These include a steering wheel clad in grippy Alcantara, along with RS Super Sport seats in the front, which are both heated and ventilated.
Being a high-end Audi model means a plethora of screens, with a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, plus a pair of central touchscreens fitted as standard. One 10.1-inch screen is dedicated to infotainment, with a smaller 8.6-inch display used to adjust the climate control.
Audi’s MMI system is certainly one of the better touchscreen infotainment systems, even if it does attract plenty of finger marks. It adds to the impression of the RS Q8 being a premium product, with the use of leather for the centre console and dashboard trim adding to this upmarket feel.
When it comes to practicality, the RS Q8 Performance is a true five-seater, with the rear bench able to slide backwards and forwards to increase legroom or luggage capacity. Boot capacity is a generous 605 litres with the back seats up – just make sure you secure your shopping before using all 640 horses…
Go big or go home
As part of its facelift for the RS Q8, Audi overhauled the full model range, with the standard car now limited to just one version.The RS Q8 Performance, meanwhile, offers a choice of three different trim levels, depending on how luxurious you want your super SUV to be.
All Performance models come with exterior trim finished in matt grey, titanium wing mirror housings, a black grille surround and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. Opting for the £152,790 Carbon Black version brings matt carbon fibre trim inside and out, along with OLED tail lights and lightweight 23-inch wheels.
Going all out means picking the RS Q8 Performance Vorsprung, with a hefty £159,440 price tag. This adds black alloy wheels, power-closing doors, extra safety tech and a panoramic sunroof.
Clearly, when buying a 640hp SUV, fuel economy won’t be high on your list of priorities. The RS Q8 manages an official WLTP average of just 21.9mpg, but use all of the power and you can expect to see this sink into the early teens. That’s the price paid for enjoying turbocharged V8 fun.
Verdict: Audi RS Q8 Performance
With its formidable power and physics-bending handling, Audi has achieved something genuinely mind-blowing with the RS Q8 Performance.
That an SUV weighing more than 2,300kg can be hustled at such speed, yet still deliver a comfortable ride and space for five passengers, is a remarkable achievement.
There is a niggling thought that an estate car could do all the things the RS Q8 is capable of, but without such a weight or image problem. Fast wagons are a real rarity in 2025, although Audi is currently readying a new RS6 Avant.
Until then, this is the quickest way to make cross-country progress in a petrol-powered Audi. Regardless of how you feel about SUV coupes, and powerful ones in particular, the RS Q8 Performance deserves respect.
Audi RS Q8 Performance
PRICE: From £140,900
POWER: 640hp
0-62MPH: 3.6 seconds
TOP SPEED: 174mph
FUEL ECONOMY: 21.9mpg
CO2 EMISSIONS: 295g/km
John Redfern writes for Motoring Research