Audi S8 review (2006-2010)

Parked next to a Volvo S80, Audi’s S8 shared a similar badge and, at a distance, you’d be hard-pressed to not consider them bedfellows. Only when up close would you spot the magical ‘V10’ moniker…

Of course, the perceptive would have also noticed the 20-inch wheels, the lower, squatter stance, chrome-capped door mirrors and quad exhausts. But as I stood out the back of our office, making notes on both, few passers-by glanced over and clocked what is a very special Audi. Perfect. That’s just how it should be. Leave lairy paintjobs and jarring brake cooling ducts to the RS4 boys; besides, simply starting the S8 should be enough to signal its purpose. Press the (fingerprint recognition) button, hear a lengthy metallic starter whirr, then… a minor earthquake that rocks the car plus a purposeful explosion that settles into a prominent, deep, resonant hum.

Driven: Audi RS4
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Lamborghini origins

That’ll be the V10, then. All 5.2-litres and 450bhp of it. Contrary to common understanding, it’s not just an enlarged unit nicked from the Gallardo. Yes, there remains plenty of Lamborghini input and componentry, but Audi’s engineers have done their own thing. They’ve also installed Audi’s FSI direct-injection system – which, as they’ll tell you at length, is as used by the R8 Le Mans racers – and a balancer shaft for more smoothness and refinement.

Select ‘D’ on the six-speed auto and you’ll wonder where all this smoothness has gone; the throttle is certainly responsive, to the point of sharpness. Some appreciate this crackerjack instantaneousness, others bemoan the snatchiness of it, but soft it certainly ‘aint. Still, get over the excitement and what do you experience? Seems like a slightly smoother, throbbier V8. The exhaust is more prominent than the engine. Refined it indeed is. You’ll saunter round at first, for the A8 is a large car that likes a bit of road. Then, a straight bit arrives and you bury the throt…

… before you’ve even thought what you’re doing, the auto has downshifted, electrocuted the rev counter and you’re away. Pinned back in your seat behind a bellow that would be like a Dodge Viper if it weren’t so smooth, refined and harmonious. This is a very fast car all right, particularly as it has so much torque so low down in the rev range. Unlike BMW’s V10 – as used in the M5 - there’s no need to chase lots of revs, and the sharp throttle is only too willing to release this flood of thrust. Handier still, this power is shared between four 265/35 20-inch tyres and not just two like many German rivals, so it stands a better chance of turning this thrust into forward motion.

Driven: BMW M5

Lacking involvement

The bellowing engine is distant and utterly vibration-free but, so easy is it to wind up, you find yourself challenging the quattro system at every opportunity. I particularly enjoyed booting it out of a slippery left-hand junction at the top of a hill. My neck slammed back, the car exploded forwards and only as I struggled with the speed of the steering straightening did the ESP briefly cut in. Awesome. But… genuinely involving? Unless you’ve got the rear windows down, no. You’re a stage removed from this beast of an engine, and at times miss the intimacy you enjoy in, say, an RS4.

Which, you guessed it, brings us onto how it drives. Reasonably stiffly over bumps, with plenty of tyre noise, you’ll conclude first. Considering the tyres it wears, the ride is pretty impressive, but it will still jar a bit over the surfaces all-too familiar in the UK (and non-existent in organised old Deutschland). The steering is also surprisingly light and low-geared; seemingly taken straight from the A8 TDI and at odds with the expected sporty character. Up the speed (with ease…), string a few corners together and, while grip seems ample, involvement seems lacking. You’ve no real feel of front-end bite, the road surface below or, most alarmingly, how fast you’re actually going. I won’t even hint at what speed the S8 fooled me into travelling at on my test route.

Driven: Audi A8 TDI

So far, so Audi. We’ve read the same so often before. But concentrate harder and, on an intellectual level, it begins to draw you in. Set air suspension to ‘Dynamic’ (which turns ride into jostle) and, while you don’t enjoy any more sensation, you do get freedom from roll, quick direction changes and reasonable chuckability for one so large and heavy (despite aluminium construction, it weighs nearly two tonnes). Press hard and the big engine will push the nose wide – again, you’ll notice visually, rather than through messages sent to hands – but you really have to be going some to sample this. Or, more likely, be ignoring the speedo and driving at the high speeds the car lures you into.

A bargain?

This smartness extends onto straighter roads. Gone is the bosh and crash of old S Audis; as we’ve said, it’s still firm, but extremely cosseting over long distances. Superb seats and the alert engine help here; I can’t remember a car that felt like it had longer legs, had quite such a blend of composure and power reserves. A brilliant interior helps here, oozing quality and detail; it costs an almighty £70,000, but if ever a car looks worth it, the S8 does. Xenon lights are flawless, interior night-time illumination is classy (though the white-needle dials are a bit Seat Altea) and unlocking it sees white light cast from doorhandles and doormirrors. Passengers, who enjoy abundant rear space and comfort, will love it.

But shouldn’t we expect more from a car carrying the heart of a Lamborghini? All this discretion and sauntering free-running is all well and good, but didn’t Audi use the V10 to instil a bit of Latin passion into the big Teuton? Well, to that I’d say they’ve done just that. The A8 is a car that appeals not to your soul, but to your intellect. For the S8, the engine has been refined, taken to finishing school, to ensure it is flawless – and then, what’s left of the emotion is there to prickle something deep down, viscerally, without shouting or screaming. A German interpretation of Latin emotion, without the histrionics. They could have gone further, but then it wouldn’t have been an A8. And what would it then become?

Verdict

As a sporting saloon, the S8 doesn’t quite cut it. The RS4 shows they know what genuine involvement is; such interactivity won’t be found here. But then, look at what it does do – go colossally fast, with accomplishment, yet still prove reasonably comfortable and refined. It isn’t a sporting saloon in the traditional sense, but a very swift luxury car with a bit of edge plus no dilution of its striding effortlessness. Many will ask “what’s the point – so much money for a big V10, when the 4.2 TDI is better in the real world” – and they’re perfectly right to do so. But for a select few, this discreet, special car may be just what they’re after. We should therefore praise it so, even if it’s not for us. Besides, today’s £70k supersaloon is tomorrow’s £15k used bargain.

Used Audi S8s from £7,000

Engine 5,204cc V10 direct-injection petrol
Power 450bhp
Torque 398lb/ft
Combined MPG 20.3mpg
CO2 emissions 321g/km
Weight 1,940kg
0-62 time 5.1secs
Max speed 155mph (limited)