Track testing the refreshed 2016 Audi RS 6 Performance, Audi RS 7 Performance and Audi S8 Plus
The refreshed 2016 Audi RS 6 Performance, RS 7 Performance and S8 have arrived in Australia… we took them for a spin around Phillip Island.
What’s in a name? A, Q, S, RS, PLUS and Performance
2016 Audi RS 6 avant performance and RS 7 sportback performance
2016 Audi RS 6 avant performance
PRICE : $245,400 (+ORC) WARRANTY : 3 years / unlimited km SAFETY : not rated ENGINE : 4.0L turbo v8 POWER : 445kW@ 6100-6800 rpm TORQUE : 700 Nm @ 1750-6000 rpm (overboost 750 @ 2500 – 5500RPM) TRANSMISSION : 8 speed automatic DRIVE : all WHEEL DRIVE 40/60 f/r split BODY : 4979 mm (L); 1936 mm (W); 1461 mm (H) seats : 5 TARE WEIGHT : 1950 kg TOWING : 2100kg braked FUEL TANK : 75 litres SPARE : none THIRST : 9.7L/100km ADR81/02 combined cycle FUEL : 95 Ron 0-100km: 3.7 seconds top speed : 250km/h (electronically limited) , optional package to 280 and 305km/h
2016 Audi RS 7 sportback performance
PRICE : $258,000 (+ORC) WARRANTY : 3 years / unlimited km SAFETY : not rated ENGINE : 4.0L turbo v8 POWER : 445kW@ 6100-6800 rpm TORQUE : 700 Nm @ 1750-6000 rpm (overboost 750 @ 2500 – 5500RPM) TRANSMISSION : 8 speed automatic DRIVE : all WHEEL DRIVE 40/60 f/r split BODY : 5012 mm (L); 1911 mm (W); 1419 mm (H) seats : 5 TARE WEIGHT : 1930 kg TOWING : not rated FUEL TANK : 75 litres SPARE : none THIRST : 9.6L/100km ADR81/02 combined cycle FUEL : 95 Ron 0-100km: 3.7 seconds top speed : 250km/h (electronically limited), optional package to 280 and 305km/h
Options for RS 6 Performance and RS 7 Performance
- Dynamic Package – $4900 – dynamic steering, top speed of 280km/h, Dynamic Ride Control.
- Dynamic Package Plus – $25,840 – as above but top speed now 305km/h, Dynamic Ride Control, and ceramic brakes.
- Ceramic brakes only – $20,940.
- Carbon Styling – $8,500 – “a number of design touches in the appealing raw carbon fibre finish”.
Key features
- Digital TV and DAB+
- Quattro drive including torque vectoring differential
- Heads-up display
- RS adaptive air suspension
- RS sports exhaust
- Audi park assist including 360 degree camera view
- Electric tailgate with gesture control
2016 audi S8 Plus
The S8 is Audi’s top-end luxury sedan with a price to match – a large, all-wheel-drive car with all the safety, convenience and design tech the brand can offer.
The lengths Audi has gone to in order to maintain performance and luxury in the S8 Plus are impressive. The engine mounts have a piston inside them which is used to stiffen or soften the mounts in order to reduce vibration and harshness, and the sound system works off the mounts to cancel unwanted sound. The car’s computers look at the satnav, and if the road is twisty then they move the gearshift points to a sportier setting. There is air suspension, which is varied between one of several heights depending on speed. The car shares a great deal of technology with the RS 6 and RS 7 – same engine, quattro all-wheel-drive system, torque-vectoring rear differential and transmission, but the focus with the S8 Plus is even more luxury, and it’s a bit longer, wider and taller than the S7 sedan.
A good way to understand driving the S8 Plus is to imagine a business-class airliner seat wafting along a road. It is supremely comfortable, and the suspension is well tuned, managing to offer a decent ride (although hardly plush) with the firmness and control keen Plus drivers are going to want. You can have more power than you’ll ever need on a public road at the briefest touch of the right pedal, and the combination of the quattro all-wheel-drive system plus the torque vectoring rear diff means that power will actually be translated into rapid forward movement. Brakes are excellent, the seats are supportive even if they aren’t up to handling the car’s immense lateral grip, and the shifts are quick and correct even though it wouldn’t really matter which of the 8 gears it selected, you’re still rocketing forwards.
All up, the S8 Plus is an amazing ground-covering machine and all the more impressive for being a luxury car at the same time, including very much in the rear seats. But it’s not what I’d call fun. It’s so assured, so easy to drive there’s nothing left for the driver to do, and there’s a slight feeling of disconnectedness, you’re simply never going to get the sense of driver-car oneness. You steer the car and it turns, but it’s a bit like a car simulator where you see things happen but don’t feel them, just notice the blurring scenery. But this isn’t so much a criticism, more a necessary trade-off because this is a big, heavy and fast limousine. We didn’t get a chance to drive it on track but there’s do doubt the speedo would be reading north of 200km/h in short order and it’d handle in a similar manner to the its lesser 6 and 7 relatives. Overall, this is definitely a car to consider if you want the sort of acceleration that blows pretty much anything else away, handling to back it up, intelligent design and top-end luxury.
2016 Audi S8 PLUS
PRICE : $330,500 (+ORC) WARRANTY : 3 years / unlimited km SAFETY : not rated ENGINE : 4.0L turbo v8 POWER : 445kW@ 6100-6800 rpm TORQUE : 700 Nm @ 1750-6000 rpm (overboost 750 @ 2500 – 5500RPM) TRANSMISSION : 8 speed automatic DRIVE : all WHEEL DRIVE 40/60 f/r split BODY : 5147 mm (L); 1949 mm (W); 1458 mm (H) seats : 5 TARE WEIGHT : 1990 kg TOWING : 2300kg braked FUEL TANK : 82 litres SPARE : none THIRST : 10.2L/100km ADR81/02 combined cycle FUEL : 95 Ron 0-100km: 3.8 seconds top speed : 250km/h (electronically limited) , optional package to 305km/h
Key features
- Heads-up display
- Digital TV and DAB+
- Satnav with Google Earth display
- Heated/cooled front seats with massage function
- Full leather package
- Adaptive air suspension
- Sports exhaust
- Night vision assist
- Active lane, side assist and park assist systems
- Audi park assist including 360 degree camera view
- Adaptive cruise control
- Power-assisted door closing