Like it or not, there’s another very fast, V8-powered SUV on the way. This latest effort is from Audi, and it’s called the RSQ8.
A partially disguised test mule has been spotted at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and it sounds extremely angry. It looks to handle pretty well too, considering its sheer size and mass.
It’s a car we’ve been expecting, and we had previously anticipated that the range-topping Q8 would borrow the 642bhp twin-turbo V8 from the Lamborghini Urus. However, according to Autocar, it’ll instead use the part-electric powertrain from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E Hybrid.
So, it’ll have the same V8 as the Urus, but in a lower state of tune. The internal combustion engine will bring 542bhp to the party, with an additional 134bhp generated by a lithium-ion battery pack and a motor.
With both elements working together to produce a total output of 671bhp, it’d have the power bragging rights over the Lambo SUV, and be Audi’s most powerful vehicle, but at a cost – a hybrid RSQ8 would be enormously heavy. The recently revealed SQ8 already weighs around 2400kg, and although the RSQ8’s petrol V8 will be lighter than the S car’s diesel mill, that Panamera Turbo S hybrid system will add an extra 300kg. Ouch.
Regardless of the inevitable porky weight figure, would the RSQ8 be your rapid SUV of choice, or would your money go elsewhere?
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