Luxury weighs heavy. Power weighs heavy, and the chassis systems to reign it in, they weigh heavy too. Strength, safety, quality: yup, they cost pounds. Audi has packed more -- in some cases much more -- of all these characteristics into the all-new 2011 Audi A8 quattro. But it's managed to shave about 15 pounds off the total weight from the outgoing car.
Now 15 pounds is just a hearty lunch for each of the five passengers, but it's a remarkable engineering feat in the face of all the above contra-indicators.
Now 15 pounds is just a hearty lunch for each of the five passengers, but it's a remarkable engineering feat in the face of all the above contra-indicators.
The A8's 4.2-liter direct-injection V-8 goes up to 367 horsepower. It gets an eight-speed transmission now. Its taller top gear, plus the fitment of energy recuperation (an alternator that works only on the over-run, basically), plus reduced engine friction, all help push economy up by 13 percent in the Euro drive cycle. And it goes harder too.
Cruising at highway speed in eighth, it'll kick down to third and throw you up the roadway with authoritive force and an effortless, softly woofling song. A dedicated button on the steering wheel switches the transmission into paddle-manual and its shifts, up or down, are prompt and smooth. Who needs DCT?
Cruising at highway speed in eighth, it'll kick down to third and throw you up the roadway with authoritive force and an effortless, softly woofling song. A dedicated button on the steering wheel switches the transmission into paddle-manual and its shifts, up or down, are prompt and smooth. Who needs DCT?
The A8's center diff is able to throw additional torque rearwards when exiting a bend, but the extra tool in the quattro kit this time is an optional Sport rear diff. It vectors torque to the outside rear wheel, and the way it tucks the nose inward and hunkers the tail into a subtle but delicious little wiggle has got to be worth the price. You can even select the degree of its effect from the MMI control system along with -- but independently from -- a choice of suspension damping thresholds, active steering weight and ratio, and throttle/gearshift strategy.
Are we getting the impression Audi wants to be seen as the sporting car in the segment? For the most part, it succeeds. The more slippery the conditions, the bigger the advantage of all-wheel-drive, of course. But even in the dry, this big sedan will corner remarkably flat, resist understeer and grip hard. The aluminum bodyshell proves a stiff but light base.
Are we getting the impression Audi wants to be seen as the sporting car in the segment? For the most part, it succeeds. The more slippery the conditions, the bigger the advantage of all-wheel-drive, of course. But even in the dry, this big sedan will corner remarkably flat, resist understeer and grip hard. The aluminum bodyshell proves a stiff but light base.
