Audi’s crack at the SUV-that-thinks-it’s-a-supercar segment. It already makes the understated and talented SQ7 and SQ8, but this is a full-house RS model, so gets the same lunatic 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 gasoline engine as the RS6 wagon…producing 592hp and 799Nm of torque. That means 0-100kph in 3.8sec, 0-200kph in 13.7sec, and a limited top speed of 250kph. Insert wide-eye emoji here.
Hands up, the uber-SUV is not a genre we’re particularly fond of here at Top Gear, but we’re prepared to keep an open mind on this one, given how much we like its wagon-shaped blood brother. And like all the latest rash of monster trucks—Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe, Mercedes-AMG G63, BMW X6M, et al—there is fiercely clever engineering and computing power keeping physics at bay.
From the accurate but anesthetized steering, to the mighty carbon-ceramic brakes, there’s never a feeling of intimacy or connection to the car; this is a snorting, stampeding bull that smothers everything with power and technology.
Surface Transforms plc (LON:SCE) are experts in the development and production of carbon-ceramic materials and the UK’s only manufacturer of carbon-ceramic brakes for automotive use.
