First Drive: 2007 Audi S8
The Key to Invisibility: In our week with this German-plated tester, nary a single car-savvy Angeleno's head was turned. And, quite frankly, that's just the way we liked it.
By Angus MacKenzie
Photography by Robert Kerian
If you think there's no point spending almost $100,000 for something with a 450-horsepower Lamborghini-sourced V-10 engine no one notices, then read no further. Audi's new S8 isn't for you. But if you like the idea of a big, fast, elegantly tailored limousine that slips effortlessly--and rapidly--under the radar, you'll love this car. In an era when AMG Benzes are getting bolder and brassier with every model and BMW's M cars are heading for techno-overkill, the subtle new S8 is the stealth-fighter of sport sedans. In our week with this black-over-gray, German-plated S8 tester, nary a single car-savvy Angeleno's head was turned. And, quite frankly, that's just the way we liked it.
You see, the S8 is a selfish pleasure. Nail the gas and that direct-injection, 5.2-liter V-10 emits a deep, velvety growl--a smooth-jazz remix of the Lamborghini Gallardo's mighty bellow--and gives a satisfying shove between the shoulder blades. You can fan the Tiptronic paddles on the six-speedautomatic if you like, but it's better to let the computer do the thinking and allow the tach needle to kiss 7100 rpm on the upshifts, the engine clearing its throat with a soft whump! between each ratio.
Keep your right foot buried, and you'll hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and 100 mph in 12.0 and nail the standing quarter mile in 13.4 seconds at 105.6 mph. No, it isn't nosebleed-quick like an S65 Benz (for the record, AMG's ueber-limo nails 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds, 100 in 9.3, and the standing quarter in 12.4 seconds at 116.5 mph, blowing the doors off a Porsche 911 Carrera S in the process). But there's a crispness and flair to the big Audi's power delivery that betrays the Italian soul buried deep in the machine.
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