Here’s A Beige, 1,000bhp Audi RS7 From Abt

Ah, Abt. Now there’s a company we can rely on to brighten our day with something fantastically ridiculous, the latest effort being the new RS6 and RS7 Legacy Editions. You might have heard the name before because these aren't new cars - Abt’s merely offering more power to anyone who thought the 809bhp offered previously was a bit limp. 

The RS7 used to showcase all this is beige, which seems a particularly incongruous hue considering how this thing makes 986bhp, or more neatly, 1,000hp. So it’s as powerful as a Bugatti Veyron, yet finished in a colour your nan might like. Wonderful. 

To help achieve that power output plus the 848lb ft of torque on tap, the RS6/RS7’s 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 received revised turbochargers, a new carbon fibre intake system, and new intercoolers fed by bigger air intakes on the front bumper. With the package, you also get forged pistons and connecting rods, plus a fruitier exhaust with freer flowing particulate filters and catalytic converts. 

Where it gets particularly interesting is the addition of Abt’s ‘Indirect Water/Ethanol Injection’ or ‘IWI’ system. “Through IWI injection, we ensure very strong internal cooling of the engine,” says Abt boss says Thomas Biermaier, adding, “This allows more charge air or oxygen to be supplied for the combustion of the fuel, resulting in permanently higher performance.”

The system uses a 15-litre tank that lives in the boot recess, filled via a port under the fuel filler cap. Abt reckons a full tank lasts just over 1,850 miles, with the level displayed via the myABT smartphone app so you know when it’s time to top up. 

The cost of all this is quite punchy. You’re looking at €205,000 (around £176,000), and that doesn’t include the cost of the RS6 or RS7 needed to dump all of Abt’s stuff on top of it.