SPIED: 2020 Audi RS Q8 – 4.0L V8, 650 PS & 850 Nm?

Audi, after having just introduced the C8-generation RS6 Avant, is on the verge of launching the top-of-the-line RS Q8. The company’s sporting division, Audi Sport, has been developing the RS Q8 for some time now, and it’s believed that it will be powered by the firm’s 4.0 litre biturbo V8 petrol engine.

Output figures are anyone’s guess at the moment, but expect it to straddle along the lines of 650 PS and 850 Nm of torque, which is what its sister model, the Lamborghini Urus, makes. That’s enough to send the Urus flying, with a century sprint time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h.

By comparison, the new RS6 Avant makes 600 PS and 800 Nm of torque. Together with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and quattro all-wheel drive (the rear axle gets an adaptive sport differential), the wagon rockets from standstill to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, and 0-200 km/h in 12 seconds. Suffice to say, the RS Q8 is in safe hands, so expect the unexpected.

Like most recent big Audis, the RS Q8 should benefit from the same 48-volt mild-hybrid system, comprising a belt starter-generator providing up to 12 kW of electricity regeneration, which then gets stored in a lithium-ion battery. The system will enable coasting of up to 40 seconds to save fuel cruising, thus contributing to better fuel efficiency in general.

On the aesthetic side of things, this particular prototype with red highlights seem to be wearing the actual production skin, so don’t expect the series model to veer too far from the one seen here. It will get the customary “muscled up” look, with beefy bumpers, huge alloy wheels, large dual oval exhaust exits, and blacked-out exterior highlights. Does the sight of the RS Q8 make your heart flutter?

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