Short Take Road Test
There's a lofty price point above which marketers talk about acquiring a car rather than merely buying it, as if one could assume ownership without the crass action of actually handing over money. This demarcation line between buying and acquiring seems to be about $100,000, and most serious luxury-sedan manufacturers want at least one model north of that level.
In Audi's case, that model is the A8L W-12 Quattro, which is new to the U.S. market for 2005. The car is essentially the long-wheelbase A8 fitted with the W-12 engine that's also used in the luxury Volkswagen Phaeton and, with twin turbos, in the Bentley Continental. As installed in the A8, this four-bank 6.0-liter engine has no forced induction and develops 444 horsepower at 6200 rpm and 428 pound-feet of torque from 4000 to 4700 rpm.
That's 114 more ponies than are present in the V-8-powered big Audis, and they make themselves known when you put your Ferragamos to the plush carpeting. The A8L W-12 rockets to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.6 seconds at 105 mph. The last A8L 4.2 V-8 we tested ("$70,000 Luxury Sedans," C/D, December 2003) needed another 1.4 seconds, both to hit 60 and cover the quarter. At higher speeds, the W-12 advantage is even greater, with the A8L accelerating from 60 to 120 mph in 12.5 seconds and the V-8 needing 18.9 seconds.
Compared with other sedans that one must acquire, the big Audi is about as quick as the BMW 760Li but is 1.1 seconds slower in the quarter-mile than the Mercedes-Benz S600 road rocket.
There's also an enlightening contrast between the A8L W-12, with its aluminum body, and the Phaeton W-12, which uses a similar mechanical layout rendered in steel and coupled to an engine rated at 30 fewer horsepower. With 670 more pounds, the VW is slower by 0.4 second, both to 60 mph and through the quarter.
Interestingly, the Audi A8L W-12 doesn't feel quite as quick as we anticipated for a car that turns a quarter-mile time in the mid-13s. In normal driving, the six-speed automatic shifts into its upper gears very early, and the transmission is reluctant to kick down unless you really boot it. So in casual driving, the car doesn't surge ahead as effortlessly as you might expect for such a powerful machine. The steering-wheel paddle shifters come in handy if you are particular about your gear selection.
All A8 models, including this W-12, have Audi's adaptive air suspension, with four settings ranging from most comfortable to most sporting. These provide meaningful changes in ride control, but the sporting ones feel harsh in the Midwest at less than exciting speeds. Although too large to be an autocross wizard, the Audi feels plenty capable and secure when you start hustling through the local cloverleafs.
The visual changes to the big car are subtle, but they do draw positive attention. The jumbo grille that extends well below the bumper, the polished 19-inch wheels, the big trapezoidal tailpipes, and the car's taut lines combine to produce a swagger that most onlookers appreciated.
Inside, the occupants will definitely notice the premium leather upholstery with contrasting piping and stitching, as well as the Alcantara headliner and the lovely beige-birch accents. This spacious interior feels worthy of the six-figure price.
The luxurious finish is complemented by the usual full dose of comfort and entertainment features, including an excellent 12-speaker Bose sound system and a DVD entertainment system with an LCD monitor behind each front-seat headrest. Our car also had the optional adaptive cruise control that senses other vehicles in the path of the A8 and will not let the car get closer than a certain preset distance by appropriately adjusting your rate of speed. This device works as advertised, but the minimal following distance is so long that on busy freeways a constant stream of cars will cut in front of you.
Otherwise, the W-12's controls work well. Audi's MMI system is easier to learn than BMW's iDrive but requires you to look farther away from the windshield to operate it. And compared with manually tuning a radio with a conventional knob, both systems require way too many distracting steps.
Such new-millennium irritants aside, the A8L W-12 is a fine flagship for the Audi line, delivering plenty of luxury, performance, and comfort in a stylish wrapper with the benefits of all-wheel drive. Expect to spend about $120,000 to acquire one.
