Audi RS Q8

FIRST DRIVE We put updated flagship version of brand's range-topping SUV through its paces on road and track

- Alex Ingram

TWO-point-four tonnes, 631bhp and a £132kplus price. Wherever you look, the stats of the new Audi RS Q8 performance are remarkable.

In fact, some of them will make you question the laws of physics. Despite that kerbweight, for example, Audi Sport's most extreme SUV ever is capable of lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in seven minutes and 37 seconds. That makes it the fastest roadgoing SUV ever timed there, and means a little rivalry within the Volkswagen Group has gone Audi's way, having pipped the Lamborghini Urus Performante's lap time by about 2.2 seconds.

Clearly, plenty of clever tech has been thrown the RS Q8's way to achieve that time, which has been made possible by a range of mid-life updates.

The changes start with some subtle cosmetic tweaks, including a new front apron and air intakes, plus uprated matrix LED headlights. At the back, a new diffuser sits between the RS-trademark oval tailpipes, while OLED tech now graces the taillights. If you want to fly under the radar, then a two-tonne-plus SUV isn't really the way to do it- but the RS Q8 doesn't stand out like a BMW X6 M, or scream for attention like an Urus.

Here, all of the neck turning is caused by the engine instead: a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8. Thanks to its 631bhp output, plus 850Nm of torque, it's the most potent series-production engine that Audi Sport has ever produced, beating the RS 6 and RS 7 performance models by 10bhp. Thank a new exhaust, which reduces back pressure, for that. The new system is also a touch lighter than the old one, and makes a "more sporty, evocative sound", according to Audi. It's easier to hear from the inside, because some of the sound insulation has been stripped away under the boot floor.