If there was ever a vehicle that lives life large, it’s the 2024 Audi RS Q8.  It’s a five-door, five-seater SUV, but it will give all of those five passengers plenty of room, as this is a vehicle that’s got luxury to burn, almost to the point of being ostentatious – though always showing impeccable taste rather than being completely vulgar.  If the 2024 Audi RS Q8 were a person, it would be the billionaire hero of a romance novel with all the glamour and good looks, but with a hint of daring boldness and edginess. It’s a rock star of a car; in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2024 Audi RS Q8 is the drive of choice for actual rock stars.

Not that the capacious 2024 Audi RS Q8 could be blamed for bragging a bit and showing off somewhat.  After all, the Performance variant claims to be the fastest SUV around the (in)famous Nürburgring, with a lap time of 7 minutes and 42.2 seconds… or possibly a shade less.  It may even be Audi’s most powerful offering to date, with a 0–100 km time of 3.6 seconds. The Performance is yet to make its way down to the showrooms of Melbourne and Sydney, but it is going to be worth the wait.  The regular 2024 Audi RS Q8 – and “regular” is a relative term here – is not that far behind, doing the same sprint in 3.8 seconds.

For 2024, the Audi RS Q8 has had a facelift (also reminiscent of a rock star).  Huge air intakes and a dominating hexagonal grille show that the car is there to do the business. It may be a little disappointing not to see the RS badge displayed with pride on the grille, but perhaps that would throw out the symmetry of the design (you’ll find it on the 2023 models).  The honeycomb motif is repeated in the styling on the rear, surrounding the distinctive low-down reflector and providing contrast with the exhaust.  The rear lights are rather fun, as you can tailor the exact look that those behind you will see at night, although all feature the long, slim bar of red emphasising the width of the vehicle.  The front lights also allow for minor stylistic adjustments, depending on what you find most aesthetically pleasing, but never compromising on safety and optimum visibility – for the driver and for other vehicles. The Performance has a touch more carbon in its exterior touches, as opposed to the black of the standard variant.  It certainly makes a statement.

The looks may promise power, passion and assertiveness, but can it deliver on what it promises?  Of course it can, especially the recently unveiled Performance variant thanks to the twin-turbo 4-litre V8 engine that’s had everything that Audi can think of to make it able to produce earth-shattering amounts of both power (471 kw) and torque (850 Nm – and that’s more than what some farm tractors have).  The Performance really is the most powerful ICE vehicle Audi has built.  The standard 2024 Audi RS Q8 claims 441 kw at 6000 rpm in terms of power, with 800 Nm of torque at 2200–4500 rpm.  An eight-speed automatic transmission harnesses this TFSI engine to Audi’s legendary Quattro 4×4 drivetrain.  My heart’s racing just reading about it!  For around town, when you want your 2024 Audi RS Q8 to be seen, then the 48V mild hybrid keeps the engine from getting too thirsty when it doesn’t need to deliver (yes, it is a hybrid vehicle!). 

Any fashionista will tell you that what’s touching the ground is one of the most important parts of style that can make or break an outfit, and the same is true of the 2024 Audi RS Q8. After all, all that power and torque have to be channelled somewhere.  Like the rest of the 2024 Audi RS Q8, the wheels are big and bold: 23 inches in diameter. A double Y-spoke design is what you’ll find on the standard 2024 Audi RS Q8, although the Performance gets a different design that shows off the bright red brake callipers – it’s rather reassuring to know that good carbon ceramic brakes are provided on something so… well, merely saying “powerful” doesn’t seem to be enough for this vehicle (even synonyms like “puissant” “almighty” and “potent” don’t seem to do the job well enough).  The design of the wheels is one of the secrets to how the Performance gets that extra edge – they’re lighter than that of the standard RS Q8, and when it comes to setting records and making claims, every little bit counts.  Some of the other places where they have saved on weight inside the Performance are in the sound insulation and around the exhaust, which means that the Performance has its own distinct sound and you can certainly hear it rock and roll (told you this car was a rock star).  The RS tuned suspension sitting between the cabin and the wheels certainly has the ooh factor.

On the inside, the 2024 Audi RS Q8 has all the swag you’d expect, as the tech has had a recent upgrade.  It’s all there in the infotainment department, from the full shebang of Bluetooth and integration with the standard apps (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), wireless charging and a 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, through to the navigation system with proper natural speech recognition, Audi’s crisp and classy virtual cockpit, and the heads-up display.  The seats are upholstered in Valcona leather with the RS embossing on them and honeycomb stitching, again echoing the exterior styling.  Needless to say, the front seats are adjustable every which way (fore–aft, seat tilt, angle, height and lumbar support) and they have either heating or ventilation, depending what the weather’s doing.  Speaking of weather, the climate control is a four-zone system with a rear touchscreen display and extra vents in the B-pillars.  To cap things off, it’s got an air quality package that ionizes the cabin air and adds a subtle fragrance (you can top these up with any oil-based fragrance you fancy once the originals have been used up). Many of the buttons have haptic feedback, just like your phone.  The interior lighting is equally lovely and allows customisation, like the exterior lights, but with more colour options for obvious reasons.

It’s got all the driver assistance you could need or want, such as 360-degree cameras for easy parking (important on something this big), adaptive cruise control, active lane-keeping assistance, blind spot warnings, parking assistance, rear cross-traffic assistance, exit assistance that detects things like upcoming cyclists, intersection crossing assistance and collision avoidance assistance, hold assistance, attention assistance (which refers to the attention of the driver, rather than being a way to attract the attention of others; the exterior styling is probably enough to do that on its own) and brakes with the works.

The 2024 Audi RS Q8 is probably not designed to be a load-hauler, but it can be if needed – after all, rock stars need to carry equipment around, too (and if you’ve ever tried to get an electric keyboard inside a vehicle, you know how important having lots of space is).  With all the seats upright, the 2024 Audi RS Q8 provides 605 L of cargo space, but this can be expanded to 1755 litres, which is probably enough for an electric piano and a Rottweiler at once (don’t try this, though, or the dog will probably sleep on the keyboard and ruin it with dribble).

Needless to say, with its level of power and performance, the 2024 Audi RS Q8 is not on the list of cars that can have a P-plate.  This is a vehicle for drivers who know what they’re doing – discerning and experienced drivers, in all senses of the word.

The new 2024 Audi RS Q8 models include the:

• 2024 Audi RS Q3
• 2024 Audi RS Q8 Performance

For any more information on the new 2024 Audi RS Q8, for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Audi dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!