A8/S8 New Audi A8 (D4) - Official Pics & Info

[Mick Briesgau]

Totally disagree. This is the best looking A8 ever made. This is luxury limusine, it looks as it should look like. It's not a sports car.

Who's was talking about sports cars?

 

[Zafiro]

Let's be honest here. Both A8 and S-class looks pretty dull and boring and so does 7-series when you think about. In my eys none of these cars look luxurious or special.

 

[Deckhook]

I'm struggling to understand the belief that Audi isn't a premium brand? An A8 does look like a big A4 but the same is true for a 7 series, common design language is something all quality brand practice not just Audi.

Next is the technology used, again I don't see much difference here between any of them so why shouldn't Audi be able to charge BMW/Merc prices when the cars are equally as good.

 

[Sayyaaf]

Let's be honest here. Both A8 and S-class looks pretty dull and boring and so does 7-series when you think about. In my eys none of these cars look luxurious or special.

Bar the S class please, I still think it is the most regal of them all. A8 interior is the only threat I think.

 

[Zafiro]

Bar the S class please, I still think it is the most regal of them all. A8 interior is the only threat I think.

Nah, S-class desperately need AMG-package, without it its borderline to a 'big yawn'. S-class gets too much love on this forum.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Nah, S-class desperately need AMG-package, without it its borderline to a 'big yawn'. S-class gets too much love on this forum.

Don't agree Just_me. I think I'm one of the few who likes the S-Klasse more without the AMG-package. Without it's more chique and refined imo.

 

[K-A]

Nah, S-class desperately need AMG-package, without it its borderline to a 'big yawn'. S-class gets too much love on this forum.

No way. The S-Class deserves it. After all these years, still the knockout leader in its Class, and the go-to for those who want ultimate prestige and the most bespoke look/experience out of the "Big 3" in class.

If you ask me, the one car that gets too much love on this Forum is the F10 5-Series due to bland homogeny. However, at the same time, it begs the question, even if I or you or whoever doesn't agree.... maybe that love for these cars is there for a reason? I.e justifiably legit, yet we just don't see it, don't want to see it, or don't notice it yet.

 

[michaelhutchence]

Let's wait for the W222, shall we ?

 

[Deleted member 1071]

The Audi A8/S8 is scheduled for a rather extensive facelift in fall of 2013 (MY 2014). Some German automotive publications have been reporting that almost all sheetmetal with exception of the roof will be modified. I personally would very much welcome Audis' abandoning of that M-A-N truck-like single-frame grill.

 

[JHF]

Wouhh!

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[JHF]

2013 Audi A8L 4.0T​

Whether you walk into a bar and order a double, or double down at the blackjack table, or, for those opposed to vice, play a friendly game of mixed doubles tennis, doubling is a call to action. It’s a catalyst for excitement and proof that you’re packing more into your day. Why else would there be racing roller coasters or double-barrel shotguns? Doubling works in cars, too. Think of the Audi A8’s new 4.0-liter V-8 as a double dose of Audi’s spectacular 2.0-liter turbo four. Two 211-hp turbo fours fused into one 420-hp twin-turbo V-8 make for a very quick A8L.
Audi assures us that the A8L’s 4.0-liter is a depressurized version of the 520-hp engine in the S8. It doesn’t really feel that way. A charge to 60 mph takes 3.9 seconds—Corvette territory. Stay in it, and the long-wheelbase A8L will pass the quarter-mile mark in 12.4 seconds at 112 mph, a half-second and 6 mph behind the S8. Something this big, this aluminum, this luxurious, and moving this quickly usually flies, too. But the A8L stays grounded at its 131-mph electronically limited top speed. In a previous life, before double turbos, the 372-hp A8L 4.2 registered a relatively mundane 5.1 seconds to 60 mph and a quarter-mile time of 13.8 seconds at 103 mph.
A lazy throttle is the only dissonant note in Audi’s symphonic big sedan. A slow roll or a casual step into the throttle from a stop is largely ignored. Push past the dead zone, and the car awakens startled, lurching forward on the tug of torque that peaks at 406 pound-feet. The lethargy mimics turbo lag, but the culprit is more likely a throttle calibration that is initially unresponsive, presumably to smooth step-off acceleration. Instead, it does the opposite.
The rest of the A8L is in tune. From the driver’s seat, the car feels less intimidating than the rest of its class of leviathans. The A8L’s cowl seems lower, the leather softer, and the instrument panel and controls less daunting. Drive it at night, and the ceiling-mounted lights cast a halo above your head. We did find ourselves reaching a bit for the knob that controls the radio, phone, navigation, and vehicle settings. Repositioning it behind the shifter would help. The goofy shifter doesn’t always call up the gear we thought we asked for, either, but now we’re reaching for complaints.
Out on the highway, the A8L’s thickly applied refinement keeps the driver at a distance; the machinery is hardly heard, and the structure barely registers wheel impacts. Start working the steering, the brakes, and the engine, and each component readies itself to serve at a moment’s notice—automatic shocks tighten, in sport mode the gearbox holds the lower cogs, and this Audi limo begins to act more like an RS5, albeit one with a 40-inch waistline.
The 4.0T-powered A8L inevitably calls into question the purpose of the more expensive S8, as the former is remarkably agile and not far off in the drag-racing department. At a base price of $88,095, the A8L (the S8 is only available with a regular wheelbase) undercuts the S8’s opening bid by more than $20,000. The S8 trumps the A8L in braking and roadholding, but a set of summer tires would go a long way toward closing those gaps. Both cars share the double-2.0T, er, the 4.0-liter V-8. The S8 is a little quicker, but only those obsessed by the numbers will notice. We’d save the money. It’s not as if the S8 is doubly powerful, though there’s an interesting idea... View Photo Gallery

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $107,645 (base price: $88,095)
ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 244 cu in, 3993 cc
Power: 420 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 406 lb-ft @ 1400 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: 4635 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.9 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.8 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 18.0 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.0 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.4 sec @ 112 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 131 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 169 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway: 16/26 mpg
C/D observed: 15 mpg

TEST NOTES: Cornering is strongly biased in favor of left-turning. Not a hint of wheelspin at launch.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-audi-a8l-40t-instrumented-test

 

[Betty Swollocks]

That article is incorrect. The S8 has 520hp NOT 420hp.

 

[Kilcrohane]

That article is incorrect. The S8 has 520hp NOT 420hp.

no, the article is reviewing the standard A8 bi-turbo V8, in long wheelbase form, and hence 'only' 420 hp.

The fact that a 2.1 tons, 17 foot plus limo can do sub-4s 0-60 suggests that once again the Germans are hugely conservative with their 'official' power ratings and performance stats - long may it continue!

 

[DeDe]

AMS-results: 0-100 kph 4,4 sec, 0-200 kph 16,8 sec. Impressive!

 

[Tumbo]

AMS-results: 0-100 kph 4,4 sec, 0-200 kph 16,8 sec. Impressive!

Indeed! It's even kicking the old V10 S8 D3 's ass big time.

 

[Soup]

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[Smithee]

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This review is a bit pointless since the facelifted car is already here.

 

[Merc1]

We just got the diesel in the U.S. and in typical Audi fashion, the facelifted version is an unknown as to when it will arrive.

M

 

[Tumbo]

In any way, 5.9 second from a only 240hp over 2 ton car, is impressive.