The Audi RS Q8 stands as Audi’s most hardcore SUV. It’s equipped with the same guts as the Lamborghini Urus, including a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine that pushes out 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Sure, the Urus’ twin-turbo V-8 produces a higher output, but the RS Q8 is still as potent as any SUV that’s out on the market. Speaking of shared components, the RS Q8 also shares the same twin-turbo V-8 with another Audi model: the mighty RS6 Avant. The two Audis not only share the same engine, but both also come with Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. Both are basically performance cars masquerading as four-door people haulers. Naturally, the desire to find out which of these two is faster in a drag race kicks in. For that, we have YouTube channel Archie Hamilton Racing to thank.
Both are powered by the same 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine. Both V-8s produce the same amount of power — 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Both Audis are equipped with the quattro all-wheel-drive system, eliminating the kind of advantage a car might have when it’s racing on a wet and slippery road.
Unfortunately for the RS Q8, its size serves a distinct handicap against the RS6 Avant.
The performance SUV weighs 4,729 pounds. That’s almost 500 pounds heavier than the 4,299-pound RS6 Avant.
The huge weight disparity tilts the advantage squarely in the direction of the RS6 Avant, right? That’d be true if the two Audis are racing on a dry stretch of road. But they’re not, and, as we’ve come to see from wet drag races, driver skill comes into play more definitively than in a dry race.
Archie Hamilton, alongside one of his compadres, decided to see what’s what between the two power-packed Audis. We’re not spoiling the results, but the two drivers did compete in three races, two of which were of the traditional drag variety to go with a rolling race at 30 mph.
Both Audis actually did well given the circumstances, but one of the two had all three races under control.
