The Evolution of Performance: Exploring the Audi RS7 Performance V8 of 2024

Audi RS7 performance in Nardo Grey

One of the most desirable Audi models receives an upgrade. This is the Audi RS7 Performance. Some tweaks in design under the hood, more power, and also some trim and rework suspension setup and so on. Let's go here with the really impressive front, already a little bit wider,

This is RS7 than the standard A7. Here LED and optional matrix LED with laser light function is even available in the US, although the high beam range is a little bit restricted then. This beautiful color is called Nardo Grey, a very popular Audi color indeed and it fits very well with the RS7, but we also have an Ascari blue matte vehicle for you here today.

RS7 in Ascari Blue Matt

Just as a contrast that also looks pretty impressive, doesn't it? Audi rings in the front, either the classic styling or you can also get blacked-out ones if you want a more sinister look. Turning indicators in the front already with a cascading effect and wow, look at this segmented view that looks amazing.

Exhaust sound and V8 engine

Ladies and gentlemen, come closer to see the 4.0-liter V8 biturbo, really a beast of an engine now at 630 horsepower, so 30 horsepower increase, and also at 850-newton meters of torque. It's actually now a little bit quicker in the acceleration, soon more to that. Already visually looks quite impressive, doesn't it? 8-speed automatic converter gearbox.

Length and suspension

Around 5 meters or 197 inches in length, actually a little bit longer than a standard A7 because of the spoiler overhang. It starts with 21-inch wheels. These are the optional 22-inch wheels. These are the normal brakes, but they're already bigger in dimension. Optionally, you can also get the carbon ceramic, also have it once again here with the matte Ascari blue vehicle for you and that one also has the matte gray mirror caps, but you can also go for this black package and have black mirror caps or in carbon fiber that would also be possible.

The side profile is already really beautiful here with the A7 or in this case the RS7. They've worked on the center differential of the Quattro all-wheel drive. It's a standard classic Quattro all-wheel drive 40-60 standard distribution. And in most markets, the rear axle steering is already standard. They also worked on the suspension setup. You have two choices, air suspension, which is already a little bit lower, and also the DRC.

Then, you have three fixed settings for the suspension. Overall, a stiffer ride. It's up to you which one you go for. Can we take five seconds and just enjoy the three-quarter rear perspective of this car together? Beautiful, isn't it? I love this view. It's my favorite one of the A7 in general, and here once again with the RS7, you can see the wider wheel arches both front and rear. It's also the same here, of course, for the Performance model. This one is equipped with the optional sports exhaust. You can see when you have this black tip around inside, then a split, and here then the black contrast with the Nardo gray color.

The light strip goes all the way through, pretty cool. I like it, by the way, definitely with the bright Audi rings and not with the dark ones. The acceleration figure is now at 3.4 seconds. Before it was 3.6 seconds to 100 kilometers an hour or 60 miles an hour, so a little bit quicker indeed, and the top speed is 280 kilometers an hour or optional 305 kilometers an hour. That's 190 miles an hour with the optional Dynamic Package Plus. Yeah, but even in Germany, hardly ever you will reach that speed. And turning indicators, cascading style, looks pretty fancy, doesn't it? RS badge on the key fob, is pretty cool, isn't it? I like that key fob really, and this is here, one of the rare cases where we have... frameless doors, this coupe style, but at the same time... a cool door closing sound, and this is something that hardly anyone achieves. However, you can also use here the optional soft close function.

Interior: key and doors

Then, inside the doors with the RS 7 Performance, we have a lot of microfibers used here from the Dinamica company in this case, here, here, here. That's actually pretty cool, and I like it also how the clicking sounds are here... at the inside window door levers. This is still a classic approach, not too much #capacitiveBS.

RS design pack

Then, for the interior, we have here the red RS design package. There's, for example, also a blue one available. You can pick it according to your liking, and I like especially this steering wheel here with the microfiber. Seats in Germany, for example, we could also get microfiber on the inside of the sports seats here. In the US, only animal skin is available. These seats give good support. However, you could also, yeah, basically downgrade to the comfort seat, then you have a little bit more open space that would also be possible. Then, with 189 or 6'2", still a lot of headroom left, this one here, closed roof, and all the way also with a nice microfiber.

Cockpit and interface

This interior cockpit overview, to me, shows how you can combine the new world with the classic good user interface here. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless or wired, touchscreen, lower part, the touchscreen also for AC. However, for a touch solution, relatively easy to control, and then, manual volume jog right here. On the steering wheel, also real buttons, so it is a mix, and that's fine with me.

On the dashboard, a beautiful microfiber is a use. I really like it. However, as an alternative, you can also get this carbon fiber-like mesh, blue contrast with the blue design package. Steering wheel with the microfiber, really best grip, and here with this dent on each side, actually better grip than for the hand in this position, and these shifting paddles, really high class. And not to forget, the small head-up display. Instruments can be classic like this or RS performance gauges or the RS Runway, and then you have drag style. And important that you can always configure your RS button.

RS setup and infotainment

Here, RS1, and RS2, you pick your individual settings, and they are then activated when you hit the hotkey. If RS1, then RS2, maybe make that one the sportiest or something. The infotainment system has these really large tiles, so easy to control, actually, and I always deactivate the haptic feedback so I can just click it as I would do on a smartphone, and the other alternative would be that you really have to click and hammer it, but I like it in the easy, normal way. Microfiber on the real shifting lever, cup holders next to it, and just too much black Piano Lacquer, I think, And here, the microfiber armrest.

This is properly fixed when you put it front and back. With the Cayenne recently in the EU version, we had a problem that it automatically goes forward, and when we open it, more space, and now two USB-C chargers.

Rear seats

Rear seating, yeah, we know there's not too much space considering the size of the vehicle. By the way, here, this is the way the window goes down in the rear maximum. Of course, we can put that high like that, and let me just take a seat. Behind the seat, I would be driving as a tall driver. It does fit four tall adults, but that's about it, actually, and also headroom, even though it doesn't look like it, I can also sit in the rear. It works.

Trunk/boot

What I love about the R7 is that it has this fluent, beautiful form. At the same time, it is as versatile as an estate because you have this fastback opening, really wide, very well accessible, 115 meters or 45 inches in length, and you can have one-third, two-thirds fold, but you can also just fold the middle part here, and you have a vast trunk area. And there's this covering part of the trunk. You can release it here and then hold it.

That way, you could look through or maybe when you, you know, want to transport something even bulkier, yeah, but overall, I think it's a good idea to cover that one, even when you close the whole fastback hatch, so you can see when this one goes down, goes here, and then covers everything, and this counterpart, you could also take out completely. So, this was the evil part because you can secure it like this, but then it's not, like, really properly closed. The key is to really push it in there and then turn it around. Now, it's properly safe.

Launch Control acceleration

Launch control. Yeah, that was, like, 0 to 50 miles an hour. Easily done. So easy, and yeah, she had fun as well. That is really, like, a lift-off, like, yeah, spaceship or, like, airplane or something, and the car suddenly feels so light, although it is actually a large and heavy vehicle. Wow, really impressed by that, and here, especially there, you also feel this effect of putting even a little bit more performance out of this model here with that special Performance pack, 0.2 seconds quicker in the acceleration figure to 62 miles and hour or 100 kilometers an hour.

Woo, really amazing indeed, and the handling here also in the bends is just amazing with that steering. Great grip on the Alcantara steering wheel. Yeah, in that really stiff mode of the air suspension, you do feel some feedback from the road. Of course, you can go to comfort mode at any time.

The first comment is air suspension versus the DRC. You can pick both. DRC is a fixed suspension that can be set to three different stiffness modes. It does not work like DCC, in that it rules between these modes and has a spin, but there are three different presets, and you have an even stiffer, sportier feeling with the air suspension.

Definitely would recommend you go for that one because the air suspension gives you more flexibility, and when you go to the comfort mode, it gives you the everyday cruiser, and you have a lot of comforts, although you have this rocket right there accessible at any time.

Sportiness and comfort

 

That was 50 miles per hour. Pretty quick. Really good from that all-wheel drive. You have standard 40/60 percent distribution, and when you really hammer it through, you can also get even more up to 85 percent in the rear, up to 70 percent actually in the front when you have rear traction loss, and you've maybe seen the reaction of the passenger. Sorry for that because there was another speed limit coming up, and then I really had to hit the brakes, and these are not the carbon ceramic brakes we have here, but of course, they are bigger than normal ones you have on a normal passenger car, and they are really hammering all the way in, so, but you have a good feeling for that, you know, and that's also what I actually prefer in a way if you compare it to the carbon ceramic brakes because on the racetrack, of course, they are always better, but in normal driving life, I prefer the non-carbon ceramic brakes because these ones here, they react a little bit quicker, and they just give you, to me, a finer feeling.

So, both, of course, will be fine, and both will deliver great braking performance, no doubt about that. Here in the S shifting mode, gears are turned up, you know, higher from the RPM. You shift down earlier. In dynamic driving mode, we have the air suspension here, which means it's going a little bit stiffer, but still not uncomfortable at all, but they have also worked on the suspension setups and made the span a little bit wider.

So, for example, when we go to the comfort mode, everything relaxes a little bit more, and the suspension is a little bit softer. So, although this is an RS model, it can be an everyday cruiser. Let's also think about Audi RS models. If you compare it, for example, to the 63 AMG models with Mercedes and the true BMW M models, the Audi RS models are always a little bit more comfortable than their BMW and Mercedes counterparts, and that's maybe something you seek, or maybe something you don't seek, but I feel these cars are all being driven every day, and it should be also a primary driver, especially in this configuration here, and I think then that is actually a good choice.

I really like the steering input, that is awesome. So, you see here, I don't have to do much work on the steering wheel, I still have enough of resistance. This is the classic stuff I really appreciate from the vehicle, a really good driver-focused interface from the steering, and shifting paddles I can also always use it manually here, no problem. Yeah, wonderful feedback from the engine. They've increased the torque in this 0.2 seconds quicker, also in the acceleration. Do you feel that? Yeah, maybe a little bit. It's not a reason to buy this one here now if you already have a RS 7, that's not the case, but it leaves a little bit more, a little bit more crispy, sporty focus here.

So, they've done a lot of setup work here, and definitely think it pays off, but to me, the best thing is still that it combines basically racing and sportiness, and this nice steering here, you can use it for both. You see, it is really precise, it always does what you want to, and although this is a large and kind of heavy vehicle, it always invites you to do some more slalom driving, and yeah, that just feels beautiful.

Engine experience

Very noticeable, by the way, how you note, how you hear, how you perceive the engine. So, what they've done here is save 8 kilograms, so around 16 pounds of weight, by giving away the insulation to the engine. That means you hear the engine more in this vehicle. In the comfort mode, that's relatively silent, but as soon as you go to the dynamic mode, for example, and for example, also shift down, wow, it like, it almost feels the car would be lifting off the road, like a spaceship, and even more so, of course, in the RS driving modes, where you can put it even sportier, and you just hear so much more from that engine.

So, it is, yeah, you lose a little bit of noise insulation comfort, but you buy an RS model, actually, to achieve that, so to hear more from that engine, that's also something they've done here with this new performance model iteration. Yeah, the drag strip mode is also available in the RS driving mode, and wow, there's such an instant reaction when you hit the throttle, great, and at the same time, when you go back to the comfort mode, you go from beast to everyday comfortable cruiser, that's the cool thing. So, the overall handling and feel of this car is superb.

You feel that it is a very evolved vehicle. It is due to the end of its life cycle very soon, yes, but sometimes, this is exactly a reason to go for the vehicle, to get it when it's really finally developed. One more acceleration in the RS mode. Whoo, that was a little bit of pre-loading. Whoo, that is defo lift-off.