First Drive Review
Volkswagen, which also owns Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini, has not been shy in recent years about sharing hardware among its marques. This brand blurring is best characterized by VW's luxury-sedan entry, the Phaeton, which was a relation of Audi's big A8 sedan. As it turned out, Americans wouldn't accept a Volkswagen with a $70,000 sticker, and the German automaker has withdrawn the car from the U.S. market. However, another VW-owned car, the $170,000 Bentley Continental GT, is hugely popular, despite a lot of its inventory coming from the Phaeton's shelf.
That brings us to the latest bit of corporate mix-'n'-match: the S8, which is an Audi A8 powered by a Lamborghini Gallardo's V-10. Well, not exactly the Lambo engine. Power priorities are different for a luxury sedan weighing more than two tons. The S8's version has its bore whittled out an additional two millimeters, increasing the displacement from 5.0 to 5.2 liters. It also has Audi's direct-injection system, called FSI. Maximum output is down from 493 horsepower at 7800 rpm in the Gallardo to 444 at 7000 rpm in the S8, and torque is up 22 pound-feet (398 pound-feet total), peaking 1000 rpm earlier at 3500 rpm. Interestingly, 444 horsepower is precisely the output of the 12-cylinder engine (the W-12) in the long-wheelbase A8L and 114 more than offered in the base 4.2-liter V-8.
The S8 drives sportily for a big guy, and the V-10's indignant snarl more robust than the noise from any 8- or 12-cylinder engine fits right in. But this bravado fades tactfully into the background while cruising.
Other modifications include a stiffer version of the four-position adjustable air suspension found on other models, a steering ratio that is 10 percent quicker, and rear-biased Quattro all-wheel drive. It rides stiffly on Germany's well-kept roads; here, even with four suspension settings, the ride may prove jarring. European-market S8s have optional ceramic brakes, and we may get that option sometime in 2007. For now, it shares the W-12's hardware.
The biggest drawback is probably the six-speed automatic, the same mechanism used in all A8s, that shifts prematurely into the upper gears. To enhance acceleration, the final-drive ratio is shorter, and after driving the car, we're confident it will reach 60 mph in less than five seconds, making it the quickest big Audi. But the result is an off-the-line jumpiness that causes the S8 to lurch forward, immediately followed by a shift to second, causing double the head bobbing. Too bad Audi's excellent automated-manual DSG transmission wasn't adopted.
This S8's most noticeable exterior mod is the addition of vertical chrome struts that adorn the oversize, single-frame grille. That was done to satisfy U.S. buyers who want their lavish purchases to be noticed. Other differences include a subtle trunklid spoiler, quad exhaust pipes, unique 20-inch wheels, and, of course, silver mirrors and a few badges.
The S8 is available only on the short-wheelbase A8 platform, which is more than 100 pounds lighter than the stretched version, but it still comfortably seats four adults taller than six feet. Its equipment levels are similar to those of the range-topper A8L W-12 and include amenities such as sumptuous Valcona leather seats with heavier bolsters and an Alcantara headliner. The options list is short, with two new choices: A back-up camera is now part of the $5000 Premium package, and Audi has gotten rid of the distorted fisheye look that plagues many other manufacturers' displays with post processing. There's also an astonishing 1100-watt Bang & Olufsen 14-speaker stereo that, for $7800, brings lifelike sound to the cabin.
With a base price of $94,420, the S8 is a bargain when it goes on sale in October. That undercuts competitors like the BMW 760i and upcoming Mercedes S63 AMG - as well as Audi's own A8L W-12 - by about 20 large.
Collaboration with Lamborghini is not over, as Audi is planning to launch an entry into the two-seat supercar arena early in 2007 with a 2008 model called the R8, which will also be powered by the V-10. At least for now, Audi isn't stepping on Lambo's toes.
