It’s a mark of just how successful Abt’s big-power derivatives of the Audi RSQ8 have been that a) it is now on what seems like the 19th version and b) it can indulge in a pre-launch for the first time - presumably safe in the knowledge that it can shift most of the 125 examples before it has even gotten around to building one. But we’re not complaining: the truth is the RSQ8 is one of the more likeable supercar-fast SUVs and it still features the unadulterated 4.0-litre V8 that its maker is hastily retiring elsewhere. So while the Legacy Edition is unquestionably money for old rope, there’s also a question of gift horse, mouth etc.
Fans of Abt are unlikely to complain based on the usual styling confetti, which, as ever, brings out the northern club owner in the latest Q8. The aerodynamic kit comes in matte effect carbon fibre, with the prominent front skirt and a brace of bonnet inserts marking the Legacy Edition out from its peers (alongside the RSQ8-LE badging, obvs). No prizes for guessing the size of those model-specific gloss-black alloys - much like previous versions, they’re 23 inches all round and wearing suitably ginormous 295-section tyres.
Riffing off the aesthetic, the V8 gets Abt’s Power R performance upgrade which increases output to 760hp - 120hp more than standard and apparently sufficient to propel ‘the almost 2.4-tonne vehicle forward with unstoppable force,’ a claim we’re willing to believe based on previous experience of the standard model. You get 723 lb ft of torque, too, and a stainless steel exhaust with 105mm diameter tailpipes, so usability and window-shaking noise are unlikely to be in short supply. Expect the 0-62mph time to be closer to 3 seconds than 4.
Abt has also seen fit to have a tinker with the suspension, a development it says was undertaken with the ‘direct cooperation’ of the manufacturer. That makes sense on the basis that all the hardware appears to be unchanged - but probably there’s plenty more sportiness to find in Audi’s air-sprung, active anti-roll chassis if you’re inclined to be less even-handed with its settings. The tuner reckons ‘razor-sharp handling’ is the result. Potentially you’d miss some of the speed bump-smothering ability John H noted when he drove the facelifted RSQ8 last year - but you don’t buy an Abt for enhanced comfort. It’s all about the branded sprinkles. And the exclusivity, of course, which in this case costs 95,900 euros, excluding installation.
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