2016 Audi RS 7 Performance and S8 Plus Review

Daytona Beach, Florida — The El Nino-backed rainstorm bouncing off the asphalt stretching for hundreds of miles ahead darkens not only Florida’s winter sky but also morale. This day trip in the new 2016 Audi RS 7 Performance and 2016 Audi S8 Plus appears to hold little prospect for fun; the journalists and Audi staff involved appear resigned to the mental grind of a long drive on the type of day best spent buried under blankets, or barring that option, planted in an office chair staring at a computer.

Certainly they are more entertaining, thanks to the upgrades their names — “Performance” and “Plus” — indicate. As Stephan Reil, technical director of Audi’s Quattro GmbH performance arm, reminds unnecessarily, each is as much about luxury performance and power as well as style. Both use a development of the base RS 7’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, with horsepower increased from 560 to 605 and torque improved from 517 to 553 on overboost. (Overboost is available in manual-shift or Sport modes; leave the gear selector in D and you only have access to the old maximum of 517 lb-ft.) This bump-up especially enhances the S8 Plus’s performance, as the standard S8, replaced by the Plus for 2016 (base RS 7 is still available), somehow managed with, ahem, a scant 520 hp and 481 lb-ft.

As relaxed as the cars are during high-speed running, neither needs to be v-maxed to unlock its appeal. Slightly modified suspensions — the S8 Plus rides on Audi’s air suspension, while the RS 7 Performance gets the mostly mechanical Dynamic Ride Control setup — are marginally stiffer than before, depending on which ride mode you select, and the S8 Plus is no doubt the more comfortable offering. But we’re splitting fine hairs here, as the DRC car is a long way from GT3-class harshness. Our co-drivers found no difficulty falling asleep in either, and the improved handling characteristics of each car, also equipped with Audi’s adjustable Dynamic steering and torque-vectoring rear differential, deliver excellent nimbleness relative to the size and weight being manipulated here. Later, off the highway when we find a too-brief opportunity to tackle a few corners, both prove satisfying to drive hard, their long wheelbases and other traits providing a good blend of stability and uber sedan excitement, with the RS 7 Performance holding the edge in outright driver’s delights. Surprisingly, though — and again, hair splitting — we prefer the S8 Plus for its more conventional yet eye-catchingly elegant styling and stricter adherence to its more traditional, execu-limo mission.

Back to the smiles that have crept in: We’re stuck in a traffic jam, with no sign of the rain dissipating, barely cracking 40 mph in a decidedly non-rhythmic stop-and-go cadence. That’s just fine as we ride out the rain and traffic. With various devices hooked into the onboard Wi-Fi and humming away simultaneously performing work and entertainment duties, we’re immune to the stress these conditions usually bring. The build quality and trim, now featuring carbon-fiber pieces with red (RS 7 Performance) or blue (S8 Plus) thread woven into it, is a nice touch, and as usual cause us to wonder why every carmaker on Earth doesn’t do interiors as well as Audi does. Whether you’re behind the wheel of an RS 7 Performance or S8 Plus, a rainy day at the office doesn’t often get better than this.