Audi Files Trademark Application for RS Q8 Name
Since the Audi Q8 concept first hit auto show stages back in January, rumors of a hot, Audi Sport version have abounded.
Now we have the best evidence yet that Audi’s in-house modifiers are really planning the RS Q8 thanks to a trademark application in Europe.
The trademark was submitted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office and registered under the “vehicles and means of transport” classification. As of this writing, the application is still “under examination,” by EUIPO officials.
Expected to cost roughly the same as an X6M ( about $105,000), the RS Q8 will likely use the same 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 as the Lamborghini Urus. That would give it around 600 hp, and with Audi’s ability to tune big, powerful cars, it should be an all-round performer, too.
SEE ALSO: Report: RS Q8 to Lead Audi Sport SUV Charge
Chances of the RS Q8 coming to America are pretty good, too, since the head of Audi Sport, Stephan Winkelmann, has hinted that such a car would be a world car.
It’s also enormously unlikely that it would come in diesel, like the SQ7 TDI, since this would not be compatible with the world-car ethos.
“The other key aspects for us are comfort, quality and safety,” said Winkelmann talking generally about the future of Audi Sport to Auto Express. “Here we don’t compromise and even if we do SUVs they have to have all of this.”
Production of the standard Q8 will start in 2018 at Audi’s Bratislava plant, where the Q7 is made. Sales are expected to start later that same year.
A version of this story originally appeared on VW Vortex
Sebastien is a roving reporter who covers Euros, domestics, and all things enthusiast. He has been writing about the automotive industry for four years and obsessed with it his whole life. He studied English at the Wilfrid Laurier University. Sebastien also edits for AutoGuide's sister sites VW Vortex, Fourtitude, Swedespeed, GM Inside News, All Ford Mustangs, and more.
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