The new V8 RS Q8 Performance gets Audi Sport’s most powerful ever engine

Audi has beefed up its very beefiest car via the medium of bigger air intakes, a new grille, lots of exhaust tailpipes and the not-so-small matter of… the most powerful combustion engine it has ever built.

So welcome to the Audi RS Q8 and RS Q8 Performance: two range-topping versions of Audi’s range-topping SUV, with more power and grip than you will ever, ever require of such a goliath.

Both cars get the ubiquitous 4.0-litre twin turbo V8, the RS Q8 able to muster 592bhp and 590lb ft of torque, and 0-62mph in 3.8s, while the even range-toppier RS Q8 Performance (pictured above) ups the ante to 631bhp, 627 torques and a 0-62mph time of 3.6s. That latter engine is Audi Sport’s biggest ever hitter, surpassing the monster that resides in the RS6 Avant - 621bhp in its last Performance trim.

The Performance car also gets a lighter exhaust system that helps beef up the really very beefy power output, as well as offering a more intense noise. Will definitely make you popular, that.

Both leviathans come with quattro, an eight-speed auto ‘box with quicker shift times, and a mechanical centre diff able to distribute power 40:60 between the front and rear axle. You will note this makes it rear-biased.

Apparently, when “slippage occurs”, no more than 70 per cent of the V8’s torque is sent to the front, and up to 85 per cent to the back, which, claims Audi, means more precise cornering and less understeer. Exactly what you’re after in a big, heavy SUV.

Adaptive air suspension is standard, but if you want it to be more dynamic, you can option the ‘dynamic’ pack which adds active roll stabilisation (via two e-motors and a 48V battery), a quattro sport diff, and a ceramic brake setup (the latter standard on the RS Q8 Performance).

There are new lights, with the option of frickin’ laser lights, new paint options, new wheel options ranging from massive to really massive but lightweight, different colourways for the interior, and a few extra RS-specific trinkets like Alcantara here, and shift light indicators there.

No word on UK prices as yet, but it’ll go on sale in Germany starting from €141,900 for the RS Q8, and €155,700 for the RS Q8 Performance, featuring the most powerful combustion engine Audi Sport has ever built.