Finished in a pearly platinum finish, wearing oversized fan-like 19-inch alloy wheels, the smaller A8 looks solid, as if it were milled from a single ingot of aluminum. It may not stand out in a traffic jam, but the detailing up close is extraordinary. Approach with key-fob in pocket at night and watch the door handles and side-view mirrors cast a soft white glow.
Behind simple shapes, intricate bi-xenon headlamps light the way, 'seeing' around corners, while LED tail lamps provide instant illumination at back. Further options, such as the motorized lid for the 500-litre (17.6 cu ft) trunk and doors that automatically pull themselves shut are a sign that you're traveling in opulence.
Like the exterior, unchanged from launch is the 335-horsepower 4.2-litre V8, the staple powerplant for all but the tiniest fraction of A8s. In fact, I'm not even sure if Audi sold one of the $169,000 base-price A8 W12s this year, but all things considered how many twelve-cylinder powered BMW 760s, Mercedes-Benz S600s or for that matter, VW Phaeton W12s do you think were sold in Canada last year anyway? Jaguar, which was responsible for creating the top-tier V12 market with its now legendary XJ12, doesn't even offer one anymore.
Nevertheless, the starter-button operated V8 is a mechanical masterpiece, packed with every Audi technology including five valves per cylinder, continuously variable valve timing and a two-stage variable intake manifold. FSI direct injection is absent, but may show up in the near
future. Net gain is 20 horses over the old A8, and it does so while consuming less fuel. Audi also took the opportunity to fettle with the torque curve, making peak torque available on a flat plateau between 2,500 and 4,500 rpm.
The result, then, is a car that's quiet in almost all conditions from the inner-city crawl to fast-paced inter-city stretches. Wind-noise is kept to a minimum by the handsome body's extremely low 0.27 Cd drag coefficient, while the engine's whisper is borderline inaudible. Of course, when you lay pedal to metal for effortless passing, the oh-so pleasant Germanic wuffle takes charge. The performance called up is equally impressive - 100 km/h is reached in a tick over six seconds, though buyers are more likely to be concerned with midrange torque which is seemingly endless. The V8 provides all the power you'd need - this coming from a young, performance-enthused journalist.
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| Wearing oversized fan-like 19-inch alloy wheels, the A8 looks solid. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
Like the exterior, unchanged from launch is the 335-horsepower 4.2-litre V8, the staple powerplant for all but the tiniest fraction of A8s. In fact, I'm not even sure if Audi sold one of the $169,000 base-price A8 W12s this year, but all things considered how many twelve-cylinder powered BMW 760s, Mercedes-Benz S600s or for that matter, VW Phaeton W12s do you think were sold in Canada last year anyway? Jaguar, which was responsible for creating the top-tier V12 market with its now legendary XJ12, doesn't even offer one anymore.
Nevertheless, the starter-button operated V8 is a mechanical masterpiece, packed with every Audi technology including five valves per cylinder, continuously variable valve timing and a two-stage variable intake manifold. FSI direct injection is absent, but may show up in the near
 |
| Wind-noise is kept to a minimum by the handsome body's extremely low 0.27 Cd drag coefficient. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
The result, then, is a car that's quiet in almost all conditions from the inner-city crawl to fast-paced inter-city stretches. Wind-noise is kept to a minimum by the handsome body's extremely low 0.27 Cd drag coefficient, while the engine's whisper is borderline inaudible. Of course, when you lay pedal to metal for effortless passing, the oh-so pleasant Germanic wuffle takes charge. The performance called up is equally impressive - 100 km/h is reached in a tick over six seconds, though buyers are more likely to be concerned with midrange torque which is seemingly endless. The V8 provides all the power you'd need - this coming from a young, performance-enthused journalist.