4600 pound luxury sedan....0-60 in 3.5 seconds (and it's not a Panamera)

[kaisen]

Let's look at the numbers. This all-wheel drive luxo-cruiser weighs a stout 4619 pounds and packs a 520-horsepower, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 with 481 lb-ft of torque. Hah! Your Chevord Mustaro GZ-51 makes more power than that! Well, you'd better get that launch right, or you'll be explaining to your passengers why you just lost to a sedan. See, this new Audi S8 hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and runs the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at 118.3 mph. Your Camaro ZL1 doesn't have a chance, and your Shelby GT500 better hook up or it's done, too. Of course, S8 buyers don't usually cross-shop Mustangs and Camaros, but it's still worth noting that you'd have to pay nearly the same coin for a Nissan GT-R or a Corvette ZR-1 that will actually beat the $110,000 Audi.

Forget the sports cars, then. Let's talk real-world competitors. Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG? The last one we tested (a 2012 model) needed 4.3 seconds to get to 60 mph and 12.6 seconds to run the quarter. There's a new one coming, but it's at least a year out. How about that new Alpina B7, since BMW doesn't do an M7? BMW claims a 0-to-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. We'll verify that soon enough, but it makes no difference here. The S8 also bests the smaller, lighter M5, which needs 3.7 seconds to hit 60 mph and 11.9 seconds to finish the quarter mile. The newest Maserati Quattroporte we tested, a 2008 Sport GT, matches up on price but not performance. It needed 5.4 seconds to hit 60 mph and 13.9 seconds to do the quarter. What about the Jaguar XJ Supersport? 4.7 seconds to 60 mph claimed. Lexus LS 460 F Sport? Slightly faster than the Maserati, Lexus says. Infiniti M56? Into the fours, but still way behind the Audi. For nearly double the price, you could get a Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed, but you'd be more than a second slower to 60 mph. If you're willing to triple the price tag and forgo two doors, Ferrari says the new FF will hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and it's probably slightly quicker than that, but Ferrari won't give us one to test.

The only car in the class that can match the S8 for straight line speed is its distant cousin, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S, and it's still a dead heat. The Panamera will hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, same as the S8, and run the quarter in 11.8 seconds at 118.0 mph to the Audi's 11.8 seconds at 118.3 mph. Let's not forget that the Porsche is rocking a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox while the Audi pulls off the upset with an eight-speed automatic and torque converter. Oh, and the Audi is more than 200 pounds heavier, all-aluminum construction be damned.

The story differs *only slightly* when you turn the steering wheel. The Panamera Turbo S and M5, being nearly full-fledged sports cars, pull higher average g numbers on the skidpad and run quicker figure-eight times. Everything else remains in the S8's dust. It pulled an impressive 0.90 g average on the skidpad and looped the figure-eight test in 25.1 seconds at 0.79 g average. For good measure, it also laid down a 107-foot stopping distance from 60 mph, just 2 feet longer than the Porsche's.

What's truly remarkable is how the S8 drives. There are cars that seem to shrink around you when driven hard and cars that don't; the S8 is the former. Every time you drive this car quickly, you get out and gape at the size of it. It simply shouldn't do what it does.

2013 Audi S8 First Test - Motor Trend

[HardDrive]

That is a monster.

[matt711]

Stunning, and best of all you won't see one on every corner. That is probably the reason I have always loves the big Audi's. For every A8 you see there are 10 S class mercs and 10 more 7 series Beemers. Still love the Panamera for it's unusual looks though..

-Matt

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by matt711

Still love the Panamera for it's unusual looks though..

You're in an exclusive club

[speeder]

Originally Posted by kaisen

You're in an exclusive club

That's for sure. But as they say in the car biz, "there's an ass for every seat..."

And quite a few for the Panamera. They seem to sell well, at least in L.A.

[kaisen]

Liking the Panamera for its looks, and liking the Panamera because it's a great car are two distinctly different things.

[speeder]

That performance is almost beyond belief. A 4600 lb. luxury barge with every option ever imagined, (and about a dozen that could not have been imagined 20 or 30 years ago), that probably drives like a kitten in traffic and would absolutely decimate any stock muscle car from the old days in the 1/4 mile.

Amazing.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by matt711

Stunning, and best of all you won't see one on every corner. That is probably the reason I have always loves the big Audi's. For every A8 you see there are 10 S class mercs and 10 more 7 series Beemers. Still love the Panamera for it's unusual looks though..

-Matt

I've always loved them for this as well, but the best thing about them is that in a couple of years they become $20k cars. Matt whippedpuppy will be rolling in one of these in no time at all.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I wouldn't kick it out of my garage.

I've always wanted, and still do want, a first generation S8. Something about that chase in Ronin that really turned me on to those things. I want an E34 M5 as well, so it's all about Ronin.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

I've always loved them for this as well, but the best thing about them is that in a couple of years they become $20k cars. Matt whippedpuppy will be rolling in one of these in no time at all.

Hey now! Even I have standards. You don't see me in a Cayenne, do you?

Though at $20k I could probably look past the ugly. Except when a Panamera is $20k a CTS-V wagon will be too, so the Panamera loses again.

[speeder]

I was talking about S8s.

[slow&rusty]

I would like to see this car pitched against the W212 Bi-Turbo E63 AMG with the optional Performance Package...money is the same for both cars.

Glad to see Audi picking up the pace (literally) and gunning for the BMW / Benz offerings.
Yasin

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

I was talking about S8s.

In that case you are correct.

[Jim Richards]

Does it come in a black wagon?

[matt711]

I love the Panamera's looks and performance.... maybe I'm just wierd but I really do love the looks. The previous generation S8 is one of my all time favorite cars. The car chase scene in Ronin... need i say more!

-Matt

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by speeder

That performance is almost beyond belief. A 4600 lb. luxury barge with every option ever imagined, (and about a dozen that could not have been imagined 20 or 30 years ago), that probably drives like a kitten in traffic and would absolutely decimate any stock muscle car from the old days in the 1/4 mile.

Amazing.

It is.

It is also, however, as ugly as a mud fence. The Panamera is so much better looking it has dropped a glass slipper the two ugly S8 sisters will be trying on to no avail.

There just isn't a drop dead gorgeous, unique car on the market. They all look the same, from light cluster to light cluster.

I remember the first time I saw an E9, a 911, rode in a split window Vet, laid eyes on a BMW 2002 or a 1977 320...look, someones on my lawn!

[intakexhaust]

What a road gobbler. Amazing to think of all the physics required moving this mass at four small contact patches. I'll bet too this beast makes bad drivers manage to survive.... screw up dive bombing the corners, turn in and let the rest take over.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

It is.

It is also, however, as ugly as a mud fence. The Panamera is so much better looking it has dropped a glass slipper the two ugly S8 sisters will be trying on to no avail.

There just isn't a drop dead gorgeous, unique car on the market. They all look the same, from light cluster to light cluster.

I remember the first time I saw an E9, a 911, rode in a split window Vet, laid eyes on a BMW 2002 or a 1977 320...look, someones on my lawn!

Paul tells us the Panamera is decent looking, then starts babbling about the past......looks like it's off to the home with you! How do you feel about playing checkers for 8 hours each day?

[matt711]

The Pontiac Aztec was very unique.... Nothing out there like it!

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Paul tells us the Panamera is decent looking, then starts babbling about the past......looks like it's off to the home with you! How do you feel about playing checkers for 8 hours each day?

I got your checkers, right here!!!

Six hours a day works, however...checkers, that is