No plans for Audi RS Q8 E-Tron electric performance SUV

Audi says it will not build a high-performance RS version of its new 2023 Audi Q8 E-Tron electric SUV – despite the flagship performance badge spreading to other Audi electric models.

The new Q8 E-Tron range – the facelifted, renamed version of Audi’s first electric vehicle, the eponymous E-Tron – is headlined by the first battery-powered Audi S model, the SQ8, with three motors and 370kW.

However Audi says there are no plans to follow it up with an even faster RS Q8 E-Tron – which would rival the BMW iX M60, Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV or Tesla Model X Plaid – despite the RS badge being used on the Audi E-Tron GT sedan, and slated for the upcoming Q6 E-Tron SUV.

“At this point we, first of all, don’t see the need for an RS Q8. We have an S model, the SQ8, which has a lot of the tricks that you often see on an RS model already in there,” Carter Balkcom, Audi Q8 E-Tron product marketing manager, told media at the Q8 E-Tron's reveal.

“For example, our S model has the big wide stance and the big wide track, giving it the look of what you would expect on an RS model. And then at the same time with our S we brought out the first three-motor battery electric [drivetrain], offering this electric torque vectoring on the rear axle, which provides a crazy sporty feel for such a large vehicle.

“And so for this platform that Q8 E-Tron is based on, we don’t have plans to bring an RS out at the moment.”

Powering the SQ8 E-Tron – and its predecessor, the E-Tron S – are three electric motors (one up front, two at the rear) developing 370kW and 973Nm in ‘boost’ mode, good for a 4.5-second dash from 0-100km/h, and a 210km/h top speed.

The executive’s claim is accurate – the E-Tron S ‘wagon’ and Sportback are the first mass-produced electric cars with three motors, beating the Tesla Model S Plaid to market by nine months.

However, its power outputs are overshadowed by dual-motor rivals: the 380kW/910Nm Polestar 3 Long Range with Performance Pack, 455kW/1100Nm BMW iX M60, 505kW/1000Nm Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV, and the entry-level 500kW Long Range variant of the Tesla Model X.

Meanwhile, Audi has applied the RS badge to its second electric-vehicle family, the Porsche Taycan-derived E-Tron GT sedan, with dual motors and outputs of up to 475kW/830Nm.

Spy photographers have caught a high-performance version of the upcoming Q6 E-Tron – positioned a size smaller than the Q8 E-Tron, closer to the mid-size Q5 petrol SUV – which is rumoured to adopt the RS Q6 E-Tron name.