Audi S8: Driving report!

"Fourtitude" has a driving report about the Audi S8 and the editor had the chance to do so on a German highway. Do you know a better place?

Robert De Niro had Audi fans in North America chomping at the bit when the S8 showed up in the 1998 movie Ronin, but they would have to wait until 2001 for the super-hot Q-ship finally landed here. The original S8 had the same 4.2 V8 as the A8, albeit massaged to 360-hp and rolling on larger 18-inch Avus wheels. Nobody ever called the first S8 tame, but outwardly the car wasn’t much different from a run-of-the-mill A8.

Audi won’t need Bobby Deniro to get the buzz out on their all-new uber-S. With a 450-hp 10-cylinder engine and absolutely mean-looking front fascia, the new S8 marks a significant change over the current A8 range, pushing the S-car envelope further than ever. There’s been plenty of excitement surrounding the new S8 since it made its surprise debut in Tokyo just a month ago.

Under the hood beats a 5.2-liter V10 FSI, the first time such a configuration has been fitted within a four-ringed ride. Although Audi’s corporate cousin Lamborghini has been selling Gallardos with a non-FSI variant of the 10-cylinder for some time, this engine is all German- not that the DNA shared with its exotic cousin is to its detriment.

If the Lambo bloodline didn’t reel you in, perhaps 450 bhp and 398 ft lbs. of torque will make you take notice. Or maybe the visceral bark of the V10 will get your attention. At idle, the sound of the engine is so quiet it’s barely perceptible, but give it some throttle and it sings in a deep baritone, meaner than the 4.2 and angrier than the W12.

Please also read on the last page of the driving report how the Audi S8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo differ.

GermanCarBlog, Audi S8

Source: Fourtitude

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