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2012 Audi A8L W12 Road Test | Review | Car and Driver
W could stand for "Whuuuuuuat?! It's how expensive?!"
Ease is among the chief differentiators between the obnoxiously wealthy and those who are merely ultra-rich. Ease of buying your way into finer polo clubs, out of lesser felonies, into better key parties, that sort of thing. When it comes to the Audi A8L W-12, the only thing that isn’t easy is saying A8L W-12. When your flagship vehicle’s designation reads like a license plate, maybe it’s time to rethink vehicle names. We’ve got a suggestion for this one: Autobahn King.
Allow an unwavering sense of fiscal liberation to guide your answers to a simple series of yes/no questions, and it’s a short walk from base A8 to Autobahn King. Need an extra 5.1 inches of wheelbase? Well, “need” is being a bit dramatic, but if one can have it, then why not? Need 128 more horsepower than the base A8’s 372-hp V-8 provides? Did you hear your favorite word—“more”—in there? Of course.
Wonderful, Wanton W Power
Now bored out 0.3 liter (to 6.3) and sporting direct injection, the W-12 puts out 500 hp and 463 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 50 and 35, respectively, over the 2010 model. With twelve cylinders arranged over four banks of cylinders (hence the “W-12” designation), it is certainly a curiosity, and it compares favorably to the cutting-edge turbocharged 12s powering its competitors from BMW and Mercedes. The roundel’s 760Li manages 535 horses from 6.0 liters, while Benz’s S600 makes 510 with just 5.5 and its S65 AMG honks out 621 with 6.0. Compared to the competition, the W hurls the A8L to speed with the same all-important sense of ease, accompanying its thrust with a husky growl so smooth it almost sounds like a monster rotary.
Standard all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission, plus a 4759-pound curb weight afforded by its all-aluminum construction, help the W-12 hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds—bettering the BMW by 0.2 and both Benzes by 0.1—and blow through the quarter-mile in 12.6 at 114 mph. Bummer that its governor is set at just 128 mph, oddly low for a 500-hp Autobahn King. It takes about 17 seconds to reach peak speed from rest, or slightly more than 10 from a 75-mph cruise. Should you want to test the top speed on a whim, you’ll be back at that sedate 75 in less time than it takes those tiny dots behind you to say, “Was that a Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed?”
The major difference between this car and the V-8–powered A8 is the extra 200-plus pounds over the nose. (The V-8 will be replaced for 2013 by a supercharged 3.0-liter six.) The weight and different tires contribute to a 70-to-0-mph stopping figure 30 or so feet longer than that of other A8Ls we’ve tested. Even with, um, “dinky” 19-inch wheels, the W-12 car suffers from more pronounced crashing over large imperfections. But this is the single dynamic blemish, as the car is otherwise so planted and controlled it always feels like you’re going about 20 mph slower than you really are. We frequently found ourselves cruising at 75 mph on two-lanes and 90 on the highway. Oops.
The Emperor Spent What on His New Clothes?!
Among all the things the W-12 A8 accomplishes with ease, commanding an obscene sticker price is not to be overlooked. We don’t mean to misjudge those who buy A8s; while the regular A8—as well as its competitors—is frequently purchased by the merely wealthy, the example tested here occupies a price bracket shouldering its way toward Bentley and Rolls-Royce territory. Start with a base price of $135,675 (including a $1300 gas-guzzler tax for its 14-mpg city/21 highway EPA ratings), add in the $4900 Full Leather package, the $3200 Executive rear-seating package—including massaging seats with a refrigerator between them—and the $36,330 in Exclusive package add-ons, and you end up at $180,105.
Audi’s Exclusive program is a way to make your A8 or R8 exceptionally expensive—and possibly more attractive inside. It offers 15 different leather and/or Alcantara colors, seven woods, and the freedom to combine them in truly hideous ways. The interior in the car tested here offended many, one of whom suggested that much of the $36,330 was a finder’s fee for whoever tracked down that many orange (Audi calls the color “Cognac”) cows. Of the Exclusive’s staggering total, $21,300 was consumed by the Enhanced Leather package, which wraps the seats, doors, and dash in real and faux cowhide, and gives the owner his choice of stitching colors. Other heavy hitters were the ash inlays ($2410) and the orange Alcantara headliner ($6670).
A base, short-wheelbase A8 is a fine automobile and certainly not a car that feels like it needs nearly $100,000 in extras. For us, this example’s price tag comes with a long “Why not buy a . . .” list. But if you’ve got $180,000 to spend and really like Audi sedans, you’ll like the way this one accelerates, and you’ll like the way it cruises. If you don’t like the way it looks inside, you’ll have only yourself to blame.
Specifications >
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $180,105 (base price: $135,675)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 48-valve W-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 384 cu in, 6299 cc
Power: 500 hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque: 463 lb-ft @ 4750 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 122.9 in
Length: 207.4 in
Width: 76.7 in Height: 57.9 in
Curb weight: 4759 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.6 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 4.7 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.4 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.6 sec @ 114 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 128 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 181 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 14/21 mpg
C/D observed: 15 mpg
W could stand for "Whuuuuuuat?! It's how expensive?!"
Ease is among the chief differentiators between the obnoxiously wealthy and those who are merely ultra-rich. Ease of buying your way into finer polo clubs, out of lesser felonies, into better key parties, that sort of thing. When it comes to the Audi A8L W-12, the only thing that isn’t easy is saying A8L W-12. When your flagship vehicle’s designation reads like a license plate, maybe it’s time to rethink vehicle names. We’ve got a suggestion for this one: Autobahn King.
Allow an unwavering sense of fiscal liberation to guide your answers to a simple series of yes/no questions, and it’s a short walk from base A8 to Autobahn King. Need an extra 5.1 inches of wheelbase? Well, “need” is being a bit dramatic, but if one can have it, then why not? Need 128 more horsepower than the base A8’s 372-hp V-8 provides? Did you hear your favorite word—“more”—in there? Of course.
Wonderful, Wanton W Power
Now bored out 0.3 liter (to 6.3) and sporting direct injection, the W-12 puts out 500 hp and 463 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 50 and 35, respectively, over the 2010 model. With twelve cylinders arranged over four banks of cylinders (hence the “W-12” designation), it is certainly a curiosity, and it compares favorably to the cutting-edge turbocharged 12s powering its competitors from BMW and Mercedes. The roundel’s 760Li manages 535 horses from 6.0 liters, while Benz’s S600 makes 510 with just 5.5 and its S65 AMG honks out 621 with 6.0. Compared to the competition, the W hurls the A8L to speed with the same all-important sense of ease, accompanying its thrust with a husky growl so smooth it almost sounds like a monster rotary.
Standard all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission, plus a 4759-pound curb weight afforded by its all-aluminum construction, help the W-12 hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds—bettering the BMW by 0.2 and both Benzes by 0.1—and blow through the quarter-mile in 12.6 at 114 mph. Bummer that its governor is set at just 128 mph, oddly low for a 500-hp Autobahn King. It takes about 17 seconds to reach peak speed from rest, or slightly more than 10 from a 75-mph cruise. Should you want to test the top speed on a whim, you’ll be back at that sedate 75 in less time than it takes those tiny dots behind you to say, “Was that a Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed?”
The major difference between this car and the V-8–powered A8 is the extra 200-plus pounds over the nose. (The V-8 will be replaced for 2013 by a supercharged 3.0-liter six.) The weight and different tires contribute to a 70-to-0-mph stopping figure 30 or so feet longer than that of other A8Ls we’ve tested. Even with, um, “dinky” 19-inch wheels, the W-12 car suffers from more pronounced crashing over large imperfections. But this is the single dynamic blemish, as the car is otherwise so planted and controlled it always feels like you’re going about 20 mph slower than you really are. We frequently found ourselves cruising at 75 mph on two-lanes and 90 on the highway. Oops.
The Emperor Spent What on His New Clothes?!
Among all the things the W-12 A8 accomplishes with ease, commanding an obscene sticker price is not to be overlooked. We don’t mean to misjudge those who buy A8s; while the regular A8—as well as its competitors—is frequently purchased by the merely wealthy, the example tested here occupies a price bracket shouldering its way toward Bentley and Rolls-Royce territory. Start with a base price of $135,675 (including a $1300 gas-guzzler tax for its 14-mpg city/21 highway EPA ratings), add in the $4900 Full Leather package, the $3200 Executive rear-seating package—including massaging seats with a refrigerator between them—and the $36,330 in Exclusive package add-ons, and you end up at $180,105.
Audi’s Exclusive program is a way to make your A8 or R8 exceptionally expensive—and possibly more attractive inside. It offers 15 different leather and/or Alcantara colors, seven woods, and the freedom to combine them in truly hideous ways. The interior in the car tested here offended many, one of whom suggested that much of the $36,330 was a finder’s fee for whoever tracked down that many orange (Audi calls the color “Cognac”) cows. Of the Exclusive’s staggering total, $21,300 was consumed by the Enhanced Leather package, which wraps the seats, doors, and dash in real and faux cowhide, and gives the owner his choice of stitching colors. Other heavy hitters were the ash inlays ($2410) and the orange Alcantara headliner ($6670).
A base, short-wheelbase A8 is a fine automobile and certainly not a car that feels like it needs nearly $100,000 in extras. For us, this example’s price tag comes with a long “Why not buy a . . .” list. But if you’ve got $180,000 to spend and really like Audi sedans, you’ll like the way this one accelerates, and you’ll like the way it cruises. If you don’t like the way it looks inside, you’ll have only yourself to blame.
Specifications >
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $180,105 (base price: $135,675)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 48-valve W-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 384 cu in, 6299 cc
Power: 500 hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque: 463 lb-ft @ 4750 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 122.9 in
Length: 207.4 in
Width: 76.7 in Height: 57.9 in
Curb weight: 4759 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.6 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 4.7 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 3.4 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.6 sec @ 114 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 128 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 181 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 14/21 mpg
C/D observed: 15 mpg
