Audi S8 Review
Superbarge that thinks it’s some kind of ginormous rally car with massage seats and a TV in the back
By Shahzad Sheikh
You might be surprised to hear it, but this doesn’t happen too often. Rarely does a car completely change our mind after a stint behind the wheel. I do like it when it does happen though. I like surprising cars.
Frankly, I wasn’t all that taken with the W12-powered A8. It was just a big aloof barge that appeared to have been stripped of personality. It was impressive, but it didn’t stir the loins so to speak. Read my review here.
This S8, looks pretty similar, and only comes with eight cylinders (not even the Lamborghini-derived V10 of the previous S8), so I was really just going through the motions when I feigned interest upon picking it up.
And my impressions weren’t immediately revoked either, upon driving it away in full comfy setup. Indeed I even took an instant dislike to the light-headed steering that seemed vaguely connected to a bored man with an ancient telegraph machine constantly pondering if he could be bothered to send the front wheels a missive about directional changes. First impressions didn’t bode well.
Loaded with luxury
Sure, it is plush. God is it plush… It has gizmos oozing out of the panel gaps – or rather they would if the panel gaps weren’t so gnat’s-arse tight. I love the sensational sound-system, the marvellous massage seats, and the neat new 360-degree camera system which gives you a bird’s eye view of the car, so you feel like you’re having some kind of out-of-body experience.
Have you died and gone to heaven? Riding in such opulence you might perceive this to be just the chariot to get you there, and even though the ‘S’ only comes in ‘L’ and not ‘XXL’ there’s still generous amounts of rear space, not to mention adjustable seats and etc, etc, etc… Suffice to say that luxury and quality is all top-notch. That’s all a given.
What’ll it do, Mister? More than you’d think!
What’s in question here is whether the 4.0 TSFI biturbo V8 (which you’ll also find in the V8 Bentley GT) lives up to the crazy 5.2 V10. Well let’s list the figures first: 444bhp and 398lb ft torque for the old car versus 513bhp and 479lb ft for this new one.
As expected, those bigger numbers produce impressive performance stats too: the new S8 will go from rest to 100kph in just 4.2 seconds compared to 5.1 for the V10 – that’s nearly a whole second quicker, and one-tenth faster than a BMW M5. On paper it’s about as quick as the new Aston Martin Vanquish.
I tell you what though, whatever the figures say, I’ll almost be prepared to stand in court and swear under oath that the S8 is actually faster than both.
Why? Because when you dial in Dynamic-everything and simply floor it, the turbos barely pause to breath before they unleash a tornado of torque which the Quattro grip snaps into instantaneous drive and you are blasted into the warp stream.
I am not exaggerating. I’ve been fortunate to drive lots of quick metal, and maybe the surreality of a luxury-laden behemoth deploying Ferrari-grade acceleration is too much of a mind-rape for me to comprehend, but this S8 is take-your-breath-away quick. It’ll force you to re-evaluate your cognition of speed in the context of the barge brigade. And it’ll bring out the juvenile side of the Director-level drivers who might own this monster, forcing them to go souped-up Supra-baiting at night.
Don’t forget though that this thing weighs nearly two tons. Fortunately it’s got massive brakes (and carbon ceramic discs are optional) that haul up the mass effectively and with little drama.
Plus if you’re really interested, it’s more economical than the old V10 too, because it discreetly deactivates four of its eight cylinders if you’re not really on it, and has noise cancellation software built-in to dampen out the accompany clatter so that you won’t notice the transition at all.
Dynamic handling? No way. Way!
So it goes and stops well, actually very well indeed – especially the ‘go’ part. But that’s all you’d expect from something that’s nearly five-metres long, right?
Yeah, but let me give you a bit of blurb from the press kit – this S8 has a self-locking centre differential and a sports differential on the rear axle. It also has adaptive air suspension with variable damping, and dynamic steering that administers imperceptible steering corrections to stabilise handling at the limit.
What it all means is that this car delivers the second gobsmacking shock of its repertoire. You expect good grip, you expect decent road holding, you expect good composure. But you DO NOT imagine it to be fun, you don’t anticipate it to dance, you don’t believe that you’ll be chucking this thing into corners and stomping on the ferocious power earlier than you would some sports cars. But it is, it will and you really can.
The diff thing works by sending power to the outside wheel, during hard cornering this manifests itself as an imitation of oversteer – you’d swear it was breaking traction and moving about at the back – but it isn’t. It’s utterly planted, but the way the car holds its line and then seems to laterally catapult out of the corner is uncanny, unseemly and unbelievable. If feels like a giant rally car.
For the record I had all the settings turned all the way to Dynamic, apart from the suspension which I left in Auto – although the ride quality is impressive considering its wearing huge 21-inch wheels. Steering weighting was so much better in Dynamic.
Verdict
So totally by surprise the 2013 S8 has managed to usurp my previous favourite super-barge, the Jaguar XJ Sport & Speed, despite the fact that it can’t match the Brit for exterior design and interior style. It’s just that good to drive.
So if you want a super-barge, actually scrap that, if you want a super-sports saloon, because quite frankly at a starting price of AED470,000 (AED557,800 for our test car fitted with extra drivers aids, cool box, night vision, rear entertainment, TV reception, rear luxury seats and the must-have massage function) this dramatically undercuts the AED609k BMW M5! Maybe spend the rest on a serious body kit to give the Audi some added personality.
The S8 is back! I await the Jaguar XJR as a retort.
2013 Audi S8
Spec
Price: AED470,000 ($128k)
Engine: 4.0 TSFI biturbo V8, 513bhp @ 6000rpm, 479lb ft @ 1700-5500rpm
Performance: 4.2secs 0-100kph, 250kph (limited), 10.1L/100
Transmission: Eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Weight: 1975kg
Would you have this over a BMW M5? Tell us below
Beautiful car