The last-generation S8 was a great super-sedan in dire need of an engine. Its 4.2-liter V-8, which was eventually pumped-up to 360 hp in its last years of production, was an Autobahn-oriented engine with a high rev limit, decent top-end power - and little low end torque. Serious forward progress meant full-throttle downshifts and an agonizing wait while the transmission hunted for an appropriate lower gear and the revs built back up high enough to generate useful thrust. It was even more frustrating during enthusiastic back-road blasts, always seeming to be in the wrong gear.
But it handled great. All-aluminum chassis and bodywork kept weight relatively low and despite the AWD Quattro's pronounced nose-heaviness, the suspension setup was superb. You could throw the 2.2-ton luxo-sedan into an impossibly tight corner and it would never bite back. It was equally good at cross-country trips, simply inhaling vast reaches of real estate at whatever speeds you cared to dial up.
On paper at least, the new S8 would seem at last to have the power deficit under control. Standard is a version of the Lamborghini Gallardo's 5.2-liter quad-cam, all-alloy V-10, rated at 450 hp. It's backed by a 6-speed Tiptronic automatic with paddle shifters and rev-matching during downshifts while in manual operation.
And that new powerplant is wrapped in some extremely stylish new bodywork. The S8 is a large enough car that the trademark new Audi grille can be integrated without making the front look like it's wearing a horse collar. Enlarged front fascia air intakes route fresh air to the massive front brakes and subtle fender flares lend a hint of muscularity to the otherwise restrained bodywork. The high beltline, graceful greenhouse, tidy aero headlamps, flush glass and attractive rear-end treatment are complemented by 20-inch ten-spoke alloys wearing 265/35 performance summer tires to complete the effect.
While the standard interior is sumptuous enough, my test car was fitted with the $4900 leather upgrade package, adding leather to door panels, dash and front seat back pockets—about the only surfaces not already wearing the stuff. The same option adds an Alcantara headliner, a nice touch. The 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system ($6300) has two main amplifiers with a combined 750 watts and separate amps for each of the remaining speakers, for a total of nearly 1100 watts. Pop-up tweeters atop the IP near the windshield are part of the package. The combination sounds great; whether it's worth six large is your call.
Audi interiors on its high-end vehicles like the S8 are a visual treat, not to mention comfortable.
The Premium Package ($3500) adds a flip-up LCD screen that appears from the dash upon engine startup and doubles as a monitor for a backup camera, as a display for the DVD satnav system and for the multiple menus contained in the Advanced Multi Media Interface system. The camera is augmented by audible warnings should either end of the car be about to make contact. The MMI is far from intuitive and a nuisance to use at first; you'll spend far too much time looking down at the console-mounted controls and LCD screen. I could easily live with a few dozen more switches in its stead.
Assistant road test editor Chuck Bauer noted the presence of a showroom-new S8 at a local body shop, suffering from major front-end damage. I wouldn't be shocked to learn that the driver was trying to master MMI at the moment he drove into the back of another vehicle.
Performance luxo-cruisers like the S8 are designed for comfort on extended trips and this one delivers. The 14-way-adjustable driver's seat is supremely comfortable and there's plenty of legroom. They're not true sport seats like those found in the RS4, lacking the aggressive side bolsters needed to keep you anchored behind the wheel in hard cornering. Use of the dead pedal is required in those situations.
Air suspensions are universal in this car class and the S8 follows suit. There are some advantages other than maintaining parity with the competition; automatic self-leveling is one. Ride height varies according to speed and it also lets you crank up ride height at very low speeds to keep that deep front spoiler from getting wiped off by an abrupt driveway entrance.
Three settings adjust the suspension: Comfort, Dynamic and Auto. Comfort is too soft for spirited driving but the other two work reasonably well. Dynamic mode ratchets-up spring rate and damper settings and feels marginally stiffer than Auto but not dramatically so. I finally quit switching back and forth between the two and let the car make its own decisions, leaving it in Auto mode.
So configured, roll is kept well under control and body motions are well-damped with spring rate and damping continuously adjusted via computer. Still, that S badge really doesn't buy you the sporting sensations it implies. The S8 is a heavy car, nearly 4600 pounds, and it feels even heavier. Plus, it's got a substantial percentage of that weight sitting over the front axle. The speed-sensitive steering offers almost zero feedback at low speeds and while effort rises with speed, there's no corresponding increase in feel. Turn-in is lethargic, understeer is always on duty and while lateral grip is substantial, there's little temptation to test its limits. Driven at 8-tenths, it's very confident. Push harder and the driver's work load rises exponentially. This is a car that's far more comfortable reeling-in the horizon on open interstates than carving up back-road curves.
Audi might have devoted a portion of the man-hours spent designing the trick air suspension by looking instead at some driveability issues. Drive-by-wire systems can't offer the linearity afforded by simple mechanical linkages but this one acts more like an on/off switch. Depress the throttle at rest and nothing happens during the first inch of travel. About the time you're wondering if maybe you've grabbed neutral by mistake, adding another ounce of pressure launches the car like you're late for work. In reverse, this effect is twice as pronounced. Purely a software issue, I'm surprised the Audi S8 was released with this hiccup. (The Audi S5 is similarly afflicted.)
The complexity of the S8's subsystems can also work against it. Park a car with its electric door locks switched to the unlocked position, yank the door handle and you expect the door to open. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way on the big Audi. The door handle activates an electric solenoid which in turn unlocks the door. But the first pull does nothing. Instead, the Audi asks, "You just pulled the door handle. Does this mean you want the door unlocked? Are you absolutely certain? You mean like, right now?" You'll have to pull it a second time to unlock the door, a needless, irritating design anomaly common to many automated electric door locks.
Lamborghini-derived V-10 generates 450 hp and 398 lb-ft, enough to have it knocking on its 155 mph speed limiter before reaching sixth gear.
The DOHC 5.2-liter V-10 is a long-stroke four-valve design and while 10 cylinders, FSI ultra high-pressure direct fuel injection, a stratospheric 12.5:1 compression ratio, continuously variable valve timing and that Lamborghini heritage would seem to promise rocketship performance, I didn't see that in the test car. The quarter-mile rolled past in 14.50 seconds at 96.5 mph and it reached 60 mph from rest in 6.23 seconds, well off the expected numbers and considerably slower than its rivals from BMW and Mercedes. I'd chalk this up to a high, 6800 rpm power peak and long gearing. High ambient temperatures during testing didn't help either. There's an upside, however: I saw 20.6 mpg at a steady 75 mph cruise, a remarkably high number for a large, heavy vehicle.
The brakes are terrific. Pedal feel is good, making them easy to modulate and they stopped the Audi S8 at a prodigious rate from an observed maximum 156 mph top whack. During a video shoot I hammered the brakes repeatedly in the mountains above Tucson during a dozen passes before the cameras, experiencing zero fade.
Exclusive S badge denotes the S8's 450 hp V-10 and go-fast suspension bits.
Based-priced at $92,000, with five options the test car's window sticker read $110,170. That's a significant premium over the 4.2-liter A8's $68,900 base price or the Audi A8L $72,900 base. But the S8 does excel at keeping a relatively low profile while offering S-badge exclusivity, just as in years past. You can get away with transgressions in this car that'll get you arrested in other super-sedans.
As an executive express powered by that turbine-smooth V-10 its primary attraction compared to the Benz and BMW is the all-wheel-drive and the simple fact that it's both beautiful and different. For many, those will be reasons enough to buy one.
Editor's Note:
You're here already, so check out the secrets to driving a car like this without losing your license.
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