First US S8 Test, Quicker than M5 and Panamera Turbo S

[mik15]

fast it is indeed and definitely looks a lot better inside than the BMW, though i am not a big fan of the front design, actually the headlapms, gives the car a sad face ...they all say about Audi that the engine comes too much in front of the axle, but that is mainly because of the Quattro system, you can't really push the engine too much behind or you won't be able to fit the front axles, never had a look under the bonnet of an xdrive, i am curious how the engine seats there...i guess the solution would be to use a front differential somehow parallel with the engine instead of the longitudinal position they have now...anyway, i've rather have the Quattro safety with all that power than the RWD with the same amount of hp...

[AndyBG]

Quattro and xDrive are totaly different! BMWs equiped with xDrive have their engine in same place as those without...

[Spidercat]

I think Audi made a mistake. This thing is too fast. Can the RS6 possibly be any faster. That's insane acceleration for huge family sedan. Maybe they have something to prove, you want fast well hear it is. Well done Audi.......

Those were my thoughts exactly! Surely Audi wouldn't want the S8 to best the soon-to-be released RS6 & 7 in the performance arena. That wouldn't make good marketing sense.
I absolutely cannot wait to see what the leaner RSs will lay down when they arrive.

[dab]

Does Audi Tune it's Press Cars?????????? On the dyno it was 570, 440 at the wheels.

[Stephencl]

Almost all manufactures 'tune' their press cars..BMW, Aston Martin and Ferrari are the most famous for doing it. I remember that the customer 550 was almost a second off the press version in 0-60 times as tested by the same magazine back in the day. Porsche famous for the rouge, I wont tune my press cars.

Does Audi Tune it's Press Cars?????????? On the dyno it was 570, 440 at the wheels.

[artur777]

RS6 & RS7 will be faster than S8
Some thoughts

1) the engine will be tuned for around 550 hp
2) transmission will likely be S-Tronic which is faster in shifting
3) RS cars will weight lower than S8, not by much but lower
4) RS cars will have launch control to improve stand still acceleration
5) RS cars package (engine, transmission, ecu and etc) will be tuned for maximum performance

So I expect RS6 & RS7 to be about 3,5-3,7 secs to 100, and about 11,5-12 secs to 200. Which is very good result.

[marklar182]

...they all say about Audi that the engine comes too much in front of the axle, but that is mainly because of the Quattro system, you can't really push the engine too much behind or you won't be able to fit the front axles, never had a look under the bonnet of an xdrive, i am curious how the engine seats there...i guess the solution would be to use a front differential somehow parallel with the engine instead of the longitudinal position they have now...anyway, i've rather have the Quattro safety with all that power than the RWD with the same amount of hp...

The Xdrive front diff sits on one side of the engine and runs through the oil pan to the other side. Like Nissan did in the old straight 6 Skyline GT-R.

[peiserg]

You guys should watch if you haven't. they put both cars on the dyno.. the Audi turns out to have 570+ at the crank (more than advertised) and the Alpina is WAY under what they were told to expect, lol..

[Joker]

Quattro and xDrive are totaly different! BMWs equiped with xDrive have their engine in same place as those without...

The ideal answer for Audi is to switch to what Nissan did in the GTR by mounting the transfer box and gearbox at the rear though this might compromise boot space. I've tried xDrive a few time and on each occasion I got the impressive I could feel the shifting of power between axles much than with Quattro, it somehow felt slower to react. Didn't like it at all.

[mik15]

marklar812 - that what's i thought, it is the only possible way to keep the engine behind the front axle, thanks for sharing that picture

[Sauron]

RS6 & RS7 will be faster than S8
Some thoughts

1) the engine will be tuned for around 550 hp
2) transmission will likely be S-Tronic which is faster in shifting
3) RS cars will weight lower than S8, not by much but lower
4) RS cars will have launch control to improve stand still acceleration
5) RS cars package (engine, transmission, ecu and etc) will be tuned for maximum performance

So I expect RS6 & RS7 to be about 3,5-3,7 secs to 100, and about 11,5-12 secs to 200. Which is very good result.

Optimist. Not the fact that will be s-tronic. May be 8 automatic transmission.

[Joker]

May be 8 automatic transmission.

Why do you think this, is it because the S8 and Bentley both use an auto due to no S/Tronic able to cope with the torque levels created by this engine? I'm of the opinion the only reason an auto was chosen was it suits the character of those two cars more so than a S/Tronic ever would.