http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1210_2013_audi_s8_first_test/?ti=v3
Holy shit batman, check out the numbers! :o
11.8…nice
Nice indeed. I was just admiring a new A8L with the 420hp 4.0TT I saw parked in the garage this morning at work.
This just adds to the dyno arguments where some of the B5’s out there that have 500 whp are trapping the same speed of a 2+ ton vehicle with 520 hp at the motor.
I bet Audi left tons on the table with that motor. A strong tune and they’ll be beasts
Mercedes 4.6tt motors are jumping from 420-580 with a tune
I bet the opposite. I bet that tune is pretty much steady boost to redline, not like the S6/S7 tunes which start bleeding off boost aggressively starting at 4500 RPM.
Who knows though.
Lots of people are saying it’s crazy under-rated but to be honest, the trap speed of about 118 makes sense for a heavy ass car making probably 450-475 whp. Can it ever get out of the hole though…holy shit.
Still, what a big long awful boat. I can’t see anything in that car that makes me want it. The previous gen looks way better, and frankly they’re just way too crazy big. I’ve driven D3? A8 and S8 and they were great, but I wasn’t motivated to go fast. Big and sloppy and numb steering makes you just want to cruise…and for that they are the greatest cars in the world…but not for tearing it up.
Oh yeah they’re highway cruisers for sure. I don’t think they were going for a car that’s fun in the twistes. Sure it can handle it but its got the wheelbase of a schoolbus. The c6 s6 is the same way. It never wants to hold onto a gear, always seeking 6th gear for fuel economy. Even in sport. Only way they are fun is cruising or mashing the pedal on the highway.
I wonder if there are mechanical differences going from s6/7 to s8. If its making more power with just a more aggressive tune, then I guess it’s probably close to maxed. Hopefully it has different turbos
bigger turbos, different internals, different tuning philosophy, different intake
it’s not the same engine.
I like the S8. Nice looking car. There aren’t any corners in Ontario so who cares about turning ability?! 
It’d better be fast and comfortable for $110k!
Good luck getting an S8 for $110K because B&O is $6300 and the whole point of an A/S8 is to have the toys.
Another S8 video with a dyno test… Cliff notes - the S8 is underrated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT0r6xQJU_4&feature=BFa&list=PLA97180860447EE6A
Can’t watch but was I close in my guess
I’m surprised the wtq isn’t higher given that hp & being twin turbo’d V8, but I’m sure that’s pretty heavily to do with tuning in the sense of drivability and longevity of components. Especially since they’ve done that on even the lowly RS4 lol. But 480whp is nothing to scoff at, especially in an awd setup! Very impressive and I’d say there is still some room left on the table for a good tune, but for oem spec, it’s fairly maxed out.
“the car is spooky fast” lol.
those guys who present those films…they have pretty much the best job in the world.
They said 479. Using their coefficient they say 575 crank for the S8.
I wonder if they’ve dyno’d the “420” bhp S6…
well, the horsepower numbers quoted by car manufacturers…what octane do they use?
for example I’m comfortable in saying my car on 94 octane would whip my car’s ass on California 91 octane. Or Czech 89.
So what do they use when they quote an hp number…hp on the best gas around, or hp on the base piss water? I think it’s hp on the ‘recommended gas’ but they factor in a buffer. Last thing they need is you to dyno the engine and find it’s making 25 hp less than advertised.
[quote=“sakimano,post:16,topic:3840”]
Paint thinner?
While not an S8 I was in a friend’s brand new A8L 4.0TT this week and 2 things: 1) that car is f’n pimped and 2) I think it is funny how much jam it has for a car that big. It is quite fast in a straight line and very quiet doing it; you kind of hear the motor but more like it was located some 3-4 feet below the road. Any way sweet limo, very fast but not sporting.
A8L 4.0TT? Is that a new invention?
S8 4.0TT
A8 4.2 FSI
?
What is it a detuned version? Or the S6/7 version?
edit: holy shit, I didn’t know that existed. A8 and A8L come with either the 3.0T and the 4.0T now. No more 4.2 FSI option
That will be neat to see 4.0T A8 performance vs. 4.0T S8
I haven’t seen any real road tests yet but the scant info out there seems to put it at a 4.7 0-60 which isn’t too shabby but quite a bit off the S8 (The S8 though is bonkers really).