Automotive

ThomasM
[PuristS]
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Audi 2013 S8 - possibly the new king?

I've long been a BMW fan - E23 733i; E24 M6; E30 M3; E38 740iL; E39 M5 and 540i Dinan 5; and quite a few more...

The E38 740iL stands out as an all time great sedan, and if it were in production today, likely high on my list...

Recently I've been bitten by the AMG bug, after a friend loaned me his C63 for a couple hundred miles...and so, the E63 (last normally aspirated V8 M.Y.) and a CL65 stablemate loom large...

Throughout all this, my only experience with Audi was nearly 30 years ago, with the first gen Audi Quattro and it's little brother, the Audi Coupe - very balanced, civilized, but with parts bin parts a little too reminiscent of its corporate sibling, the people's car Volkswagen...

I had the chance to try the latest S8 recently, for about 20 miles on the gorgeous 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

HOLY MOLEY! Even with such a short taste drive (sic) I am confident it will be a game changer -

rear seat leg room comparable or better than the non-L 7 series or S class...(funny thing about rear leg room - nominal cubic inch specs often don't translate to feelings and perceptions of spaciousness and comfort.)

a dual character ride and power train that comes close to that of the Ferrari FF, the currently reigning champ of "smooth and docile when you want to toodle around, and a bat out of hell WHOOEEE! when you jump on the throttle) - upon start up, I had to check the tach to make sure the engine had turned over! Crack open the throttle and it is cruiser smooth, taking curves and dips with aplomb. 

Jump on the pedals, and BAM! I can believe the 4.2sec 0-62mph spec (3.9 sec 0-60 was whispered to me in person by more than one Audi exec...) 

"PedalS, you say? Why Pedals with plural S?"

Because the brakes are just as impressive in stopping the S8 as the throttle pedal is in getting it going - the standard brakes haul the admittedly heavy sedan down to a halt very linearly, crisply, and without drama.   Very nice! 

Having read about but not tried the optional ceramic front brakes and their non-linear feel (common for early and even most current carbon ceramic brakes in most street applications) I can't possibly imagine any instance where I would tick that box even if the price differential weren't nearly the cost of an entire new car for a teenager new driver.

In this day of resentment towards (flaunting of) affluence and "eat the rich" mentality in many parts of the world, including large swathes of the US, being a bit low key is not a bad thing, and as M-B goes more extreme to regain market share and BMW tries to consolidate its position as the number 1 by volume and turnover German luxury brand by producing ever more obviously statement luxo-barges, I find the more understated and subtle but clear quality aesthetic of Audi more and more appealing. Certainly the switchgear now feature that most elusive of qualities, great haptics.

I can easily see myself being swayed to the family of Four Rings, especially considering how well they treat you as a customer (and potential customer) vis a vis those Roundel guys and the customer relations people from the Silver Star...(that's a whole 'nother story...)

AMG's have finally gotten the chassis and suspensions their great engines deserve, but a side effect of their success has been a dilution of their exclusivity - I see almost as many AMG M-B as I do non-AMG M-B on the streets of LA! - and the (for me) unwanted aura they have of being a bit of a hooligan's car...

BMW has gotten increasingly away from their "Ultimate Driving Machine" mantra which used to feature best-of-the-three premium teutronic brands "feel" - the most recent models just don't have that seat of the pants, steering feedback and throttle - brake feel intimacy I and so many other BMW die hards so treasured.  And don't get me started about all those electronic gremlins since 2003...

:-(

 I can imagine a market reshuffling of EPIC proportions looming on the horizon...

Watch this space...more, much more, to come...

TM