- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru Fr He
Audi S8 Sedan. ‘The Lord of the Four Rings’
The Audi S8 is a luxury sedan produced by Audi Sport GmbH, a division of Audi AG since 1996. The car was introduced a couple of years after the debut of the huge luxury A8 and is actually its sports version. Having combined respectability inherent with luxury cars and uncompromising nature of swift sports cars, the car has become a real ‘Lord of the 4 Rings’, capable of competing on equal terms with Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The S8 is one of the most high-tech luxury cars available today.
When creating its A8 sedans, the manufacturer was guided by the motto ‘Our cars will be better than those offered by our competitors’. The models featured a lightweight body made of aluminum alloy and the legendary quattro permanent all-wheel drive, which effectively distributed the power to the wheels. The Audi S8 Sedan was distinguished by a 2 cm lower ground clearance and a more powerful (360 hp) engine. Moreover, the new Audi S8 appeared in Ronin starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno and Sean Bean. Particularly memorable was the chasing scene with the participation of the mighty sedan, showing the capabilities of the noble all-wheel drive. How can you not want to have such a car?
Plus, the Audi S8 has starred in many other films: The Matrix, Transporter, Analyze This, and Taken. The Audi S8 featured in Transporter 3 (starring Jason Statham) is not exactly an S8, but a unique cinematic hybrid based on the A8 6.0 W12 quattro. It has only borrowed mirrors and interior aluminum elements from the S8, whereas the radiator grille and wheel rims have been taken from a different model. The last film, The Transporter Refueled, features a real black Audi S8 with silver mirrors characteristic of the ‘S"models (and, of course, replaceable license plates). Again, the quattro’s all-wheel drive capabilities are exploited to the fullest in the movie, and the chase scenes were a lot of fun for fans of the brand and movie genre. Do you remember how a sedan, sliding with its rear axle, deliberately touches a water pump and drifts on spilled water on wet asphalt? Or how it was chasing the plane… This is the best advertisement!
The first generation
The first generation Audi S8 was produced from 1996 to 2003. It was equipped with a 4.2-liter V8 engine producing 340 hp, 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission with manual Tiptronic mode. The large four-wheel drive sedan accelerated to the first 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds. The luxury car was 5,034 mm long, 1,880 mm wide and 1,418 mm long, and had a wheelbase of 2,882 mm. The curb weight was 1,730 kg. In 1999, the car was updated, and its engine was boosted to 369 hp: acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h occurred in 5.6 seconds, even though the curb weight grew to 1,845 kg.
The second generation
It was produced from 2006 to 2010. The second S8 was equipped with a 5.2-liter V10 engine, which developed 450 hp (the Lamborghini Gallardo of the same year featured the same engine). The engine was coupled with a 6-speed type-tronic gearbox. The maximum speed was electronically limited to 250 km/h. Acceleration to 100 km/h occurred in 5.1 seconds. The second generation turned out to be slightly larger than its predecessor. The car was 5,062 mm long, 1,894 mm wide and 1,424 mm high, while its wheelbase was 2,944 mm. The curb weight was 1,940 kg.
The third generation
It was unveiled in 2011 in Frankfurt. The third Audi S8 had a V8 TFSI engine. This 4-liter unit produced 520 hp, was combined with an 8-speed type-tronic and accelerated the sports sedan to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds. The car was 5,146 mm long, 1,949 mm wide and 1,458 mm high. The wheelbase reached 2,994 mm. The curb weight was 2,050-2,065 kg. In 2013, the car was restyled. In 2016, the manufacturer introduced the S8 plus version. It was even more powerful, offering an output of 605 hp, and could accelerate in 3.3 seconds. An optional dynamic package could be installed on it, and then the sedan could develop a maximum speed of 306 km/h.
The fourth generation
The fourth generation was released in 2019. The new Audi S8 traditionally features a 4-liter V8 TFSI gasoline biturbo engine, which produces 571 hp and 800 Nm of torque. This model is noticeably more powerful than the previous generation (520 hp and 650 Nm). But now the new S8 has a 48-volt hybrid superstructure: the starter-generator starts the engine with a Start-Stop system, which helps in the first seconds of acceleration. The engine transfers its power to an 8-speed automatic transmission, which distributes it to all wheels (quattro permanent all-wheel drive). Audi has equipped all the S8s with active rear differentials, rear-wheel steering and air suspension.
The 2020/2021 Audi S8 accelerates to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, while the maximum speed is still limited to 250 km/h. The sports car is distinguished from the ‘regular’ A8 by silver rear-view mirrors, a special design of the wheels with a diameter of 21 inches and four round tailpipes of the exhaust system. And the car also has a longer version. The interior of the luxury sedan has received a special carbon fiber decor with a three-dimensional effect, although customers can opt for a standard design. Plus, the interior is decorated with the appropriate nameplates with the letter ‘S’.
2021 restyling
In December 2021, the car underwent restyling, which touched its exterior. The Ingolstadt-based company did not make profound changes, especially technical ones, because the car is initially very powerful. Just like the base A8, the restyled S8 features new digital matrix lighting technology in the front and OLED rear lights. The interior is standard as the classic versions, with the exception of the S-line sports steering wheel and seats. The newest 2022 Audi S8 has a luxuriously finished interior, a spacious and comfortable interior, stunning performance, and a wide range of innovative digital media solutions.
