Photo: Wilco Blok
With the fourth-generation A8, Audi is now at the top of the full-size luxury sedan segment from a technological standpoint. The flagship of the four-ringed automaker is much more than a technofest, however, thanks in part to the mightily comfy suspension similar in design to the system offered by the W222 S-Class.
What the A8 D5 doesn’t have, at least for the time being, is a performance-oriented model. Beyond the 3.0 TFSI and 3.0 TDI, the all-new A8 is available with the 4.0 TDI from the SQ7 and a detuned version of the 6.0-liter W12 offered by the Bentley Bentayga. The S8, however, will change all that with the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the second generation of the Porsche Panamera Turbo.
Spied near the Nurburgring with no camouflage whatsoever masking its three-box physique, the 2019 Audi S8 won’t match the 605 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque with overboost developed by the current-generation S8 plus. The spy photographers have confirmed the unmistakable sound of a force-fed V8 for the pictured prototype, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As you might have heard from a previous report, there’s talk about an even more performance-oriented S8. British motoring publication Evo calls attention to the S8 e-tron, which effectively replaces the range-topping S8 plus. The plug-in hybrid sedan is expected to borrow the PHEV powertrain from the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, though the S8 e-tron won’t challenge the Porsche in terms of output. Projected power? 630 metric ponies (621 bhp).
The pre-production prototype pictured in the gallery isn’t the anticipated S8 e-tron, chiefly because there’s no charging port door to be seen anywhere on the car. Be that as it may, the 2019 S8 will be adequately impressive thanks to the benefits of moving from the tried-and-tested MLB to the MLB Evo platform.
In addition to a lower curb weight than the current S8, the newcomer flaunts beefy brakes and performance-oriented rubber on all four corners. And you know what that means, especially when complemented by a rear-biased quattro system.
Spied near the Nurburgring with no camouflage whatsoever masking its three-box physique, the 2019 Audi S8 won’t match the 605 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque with overboost developed by the current-generation S8 plus. The spy photographers have confirmed the unmistakable sound of a force-fed V8 for the pictured prototype, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As you might have heard from a previous report, there’s talk about an even more performance-oriented S8. British motoring publication Evo calls attention to the S8 e-tron, which effectively replaces the range-topping S8 plus. The plug-in hybrid sedan is expected to borrow the PHEV powertrain from the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, though the S8 e-tron won’t challenge the Porsche in terms of output. Projected power? 630 metric ponies (621 bhp).
The pre-production prototype pictured in the gallery isn’t the anticipated S8 e-tron, chiefly because there’s no charging port door to be seen anywhere on the car. Be that as it may, the 2019 S8 will be adequately impressive thanks to the benefits of moving from the tried-and-tested MLB to the MLB Evo platform.
In addition to a lower curb weight than the current S8, the newcomer flaunts beefy brakes and performance-oriented rubber on all four corners. And you know what that means, especially when complemented by a rear-biased quattro system.
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