Tuned Audi S8 Plus Hits the Autobahn for Some Testing

Tuned Audi S8 Plus Autobahn

The already potent Audi S8 Plus gets even more so with a simple upgrade and the flip of a switch.

A few years ago, the Audi S8 Plus debuted for those that didn’t think that the regular S8‘s 520 horsepower output was quite enough, upping that ante to a cool 605 raging ponies. The Plus model also received some chassis enhancements with a stiffer suspension and bigger brakes to make the best of that extra power, along with unique interior and exterior treatments, but let’s be honest – the main draw here is the car’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, which in stock form, can propel the sedan from 0-60 in just 3.3 seconds. However, as we can see in this video from AutoTopNL, a tune can also unleash even more power from this already potent offering.

Recently, the crew behind this particular YouTube channel – which routinely tests different vehicles’ top speeds on Germany’s Autobahn – installed a RaceChip in their Audi S8 Plus, and were quite pleased with the results of that upgrade. Soon, a viewer reached out to see if they could install the same part in his own car and do some testing, and who wouldn’t agree to something like that, honestly?

Tuned Audi S8 Plus Autobahn

For this particular scientific experiment, AutoTopNL started out with the car in stock form to get a baseline, while also discussing the gains that the RaceChip adds to the mix – around 95 horsepower and 100 pound-feet of torque. In terms of acceleration, the stock Audi S8 Plus accelerated from 100 kilometers per hour to 200 – or 62-124 miles-per-hour – in eight seconds flat, while the tune slashes that number to just 7.27 seconds.

That number places the tuned Audi S8 Plus just behind the Porsche Cayenne Turbo with PP Performance upgrades and in front of vehicles like the Lamborghini Urus from Mansory, the Nissan GT-R Nismo, BMW M3 Competition, and Audi e-tron GT, to name just a few – impressive company, indeed. On a corresponding top speed run, the team manages to get the car up to 198 mph – higher than the stock car’s governed limit of around 190 mph, too.

The beauty of this particular combination is that the tuned S8 Plus isn’t just absurdly quick, but it’s also quite comfortable to cruise around in, plus, the tune can be turned on and off with the push of a button, in the event that one wants to do so. Truthfully, it’s hard to imagine a better daily driver, one that’s equal parts civilized and capable of outrunning even some exotic machinery when called upon.

Click HERE to join the AudiWorld forums!

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Audi Prepares RS Q e-tron For Debut Run At the Dakar Rally

Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally

As the 2022 Dakar Rally draws ever closer, the Audi Sport team shares an update on their RS Q e-tron tests in Germany, Spain and Morocco.

Rallying is in Audi’s blood. It’s where Ingolstadt changed the world forever by using all four wheels to deliver the goods in the Group B era of the early to mid-Eighties. Though it hasn’t been on the scene since then, the company hasn’t forgotten. Thus, in 2022, Audi will enter the Dakar Rally for the first time with another world-changing technology, living in the form of the RS Q e-tron.

Announced back in June, the RS Q e-tron uses Formula E-derived electric motors to deliver 671 horses to the terrain, according to Car and Driver. Those horses got a workout recently, as Audi themselves report in their latest installment of The Road to Dakar.

Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally

“For Audi, the upcoming Dakar Rally means entering a new field in motorsport,” said Audi Sport managing director Julius Seelbach. “And the thing with new projects is, that there is no blueprint.”

With Audi Sport driver Carlos Sainz lending his skills to the RS Q e-tron, the Dakar Rally team began tests in Germany. After getting a rough idea of what the rally monster can do in close quarters, the crew moved on to Zaragosa, Spain. There, the RS Q e-tron took its first jumps like a pro. Finally, Morocco called out, ready to show everything it had, while allowing the same for the electric beast.

Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally

“Coming here, obviously, it’s a great challenge for the car,” said Sainz. “Because we face new problems that we didn’t find in Europe. But this is why we are coming here, and this is where we need to learn what to do to solve these problems.”

Seelbach says the tests in Morocco were meant to demonstrate how well the RS Q e-tron would fare on the Dakar itself. The desert provided the most accurate environment in terms of climate and terrain. And with electric power on-board, a test for all EVs in the most extreme conditions overall.

Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally

“Innovation takes time” said Seelbach. “And we look forward to getting it done. Until the day we are on the Dakar starting line, we will keeping pushing to present what we think is the next step into the future of motorsport.”

Click HERE to join the AudiWorld forums!

Cameron Aubernon’s path to automotive journalism began in the early New ’10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn’t, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she’s written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city’s NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.