While you might think that buckling yourself up next to 360 horsepower would feel akin to strapping yourself to a ballistic missile, the opposite is true. The S8 surges forward with maturity and sophistication, never letting on that it's going as quickly as the speedometer suggests. In reality, 0 - 100 km/h takes just over six seconds (6.3) and the ΒΌ mile arrives in a rapid 13.9. Shifts are so smooth that they seem anticlimactic. I left the transmission in 'Drive' for stop and go city traffic but shifted into Tiptronic mode when the roadway decongested. The manually actuated automatic can be shifted via the console gear lever or simply by flicking left or right thumb buttons positioned at 9 and 3 o'clock on the steering wheel, to upshift or downshift - sensational!
The S8's handling is easily as rewarding as its forward thrust, with a competent chassis capable of gobbling up long sweeping curves at ridiculous speeds. When the road becomes tighter the weight of the big sedan can be felt, yet body lean is hardly noticeable. The 18" alloy wheels shod with 245/45 ZR18 performance tires might have a great deal to do with the S8's impressive road manners, as does the sophisticated suspension, not your garden-variety parts bin special. The all-aluminum fully independent system is 20 mm lower than that in the standard A8, with 30% stiffer spring rates and 40% more compression damping in the shocks combined with thicker stabilizer bars.
Audi's legendary quattro all-wheel drive comes standard on the S8. During high-speed stints in wet weather conditions my concerns frivolously drifted to choosing the perfect intermittent wiper position rather than the usual desperate search for traction. A self-locking Torsen center differential is used to distribute power between the front and rear wheels as necessary. Audi has also fitted the S8 with a standard electronic stabilization system. By factoring data including wheel speeds via the anti-lock brakes, traction control and steering angle, as well as yaw and lateral acceleration sensors, the car literally thinks ahead, counteracting driver error and necessary avoidance maneuvers. Fortunately driver and passengers are kept unaware as all this technological wizardry performs its magic without commotion.