2019 Audi S8 Is Trying to Sound Good During Nurburgring Testing

Unlike the A6 and A7, the A8 only gets one performance version, as Audi said "no" to ever making an RS. That being said, the current generation is quite impressive: 605 horsepower from the S8 plus model.

Obviously, Audi isn't going to come out with the plus model right out of the box. But the new Audi Sport division says it will develop cars much faster than its quattro GmbH predecessor, so we won't have to wait three years.

What the new S8 lacks in sound, for now, it more than makes up for with presence. The design of the flagship sedan is unlike anything else Audi currently has, but it's not the production version of the Prologue that everyone was expecting.

From the back, we see the new connected taillight design, while the front is crisp and architectural. Unlike with the S-Class, there are almost no curves here, so Audi fans are getting more of what they want. But we see virtually no features that can be associated with the S-treatment, such as air intakes and big brakes.

Since Audi and Porsche collaborated on engine development, the S8 is going to have roughly the same bi-turbo 4.0-liter V8 available in the latest Panamera Turbo. There, it churns out 550 PS and 567 pound-feet (770 Newton-meters) of torque. Just like the S4 has slightly more horsepower than the base Panamera, so too could the S8 pack about 570 PS.

But what really matters here is the acceleration. All that power is likely to be handled by an automatic and quattro AWD for a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 4 seconds or just under. And thanks to a coasting function, cylinder deactivation or mild hybrid tech, the S8 could be... reasonably economical, for a 2-ton car that is.