Audi A8L W12

Audi attains a weight savings of 50 percent by crafting the body of its A8L W12 from aluminum instead of steel. Then it adds a 450-hp V12 engine, which further complicates the auto’s anatomy. This high-line version of the A8 has all-wheel drive, and its adaptive air suspension system places sophisticated mechanisms at the sedan’s four corners to change its height and spring stiffness according to road conditions and driving style. Adaptive cruise control, a $2,100 option, relies on expensive sensors mounted in the car’s front end. Replacing them even after a minor head-on collision can cost a bundle.

 Of all the cars here, Audi’s aluminum A8L is palpably the most sporting interpretation. From its flat ride to its meaty steering feel to its blipped-throttle downshifts in manumatic mode, the Audi is infused with a boldness that belies its stretched-limo appearance. Yet if you were picked up by your driver one evening, from the moment you ducked inside the leather-lined, wood-trimmed compartment and settled into one of the supportive seats, the experience would feel first-class.

 We scored the Audi’s rear-seat comfort the same as that of the Lexus, which is only surprising until you notice that the Audi is almost an inch wider and 1.6 inches longer. It simply doesn’t look like the larger of the two. Nor does it drive like a particularly large car. For the gearheads at this magazine, the integration of size and maneuverability was seductive, and the A8L trailed the Benz by just one point when the votes were tallied.

Indeed, the Audi needs the more powerful engine that it got for 2007. Although the 4.2-liter V-8 pulls steadily with a linear increase in urgency and a mellifluous exhaust note, it can’t match the accelerative prowess of its rivals. This may matter on the straights, but the Audi is another animal altogether when the road gets all wrinkly.

 Despite its damped responses in the lane-change test, where even large inputs fail to upset the chassis, the A8L takes to the twisties with an agile precision, cleaving to the driver’s lines and resisting spurious body motions. The controls feel right in tune with what the driver is doing, and the paddle switches for the manumatic produce fast, crisp shifts, with rousing throttle blips during downshifts to synchronize all rotating components.

 It’s a heady combination, helped quite a bit by tasteful interior design and good ergonomics. Audi’s Multi Media Interface is easier to use than BMW’s iDrive or Mercedes-Benz’s new knob-controlled COMAND device, even though MMI operates on the same principle. The charm of the car lies mainly in its engaging persona.

The clean, classic design of the car’s interior was designed to not only offer its occupants the very best in luxury, but also to guarantee its passengers the highest level of comfort. The superb craftsmanship of the A8’s interior is apparent at first glance. From its genuine real wood inlays to its beautiful Valcona leather seats and high center console, the interior design is the perfect combination of luxury and sportiness.

 Engine

The unique design of the W12 engine is the result of joining two narrow-angle V6 engines at the crankshaft with a 72-degree angle between the banks. Advantages of this engine design are three-fold; stronger rigidity, shorter length, and shorter height as compared to conventional V12 engines. The smaller dimensions of this engine allowed designers enough room for Audi’s legendary quattro all-wheel drive system. The principle is simple: in the same way that four brakes ensure better deceleration, four driven wheels enable better acceleration and cornering stability. Audi quattro all-wheel drive is the systematic application of this basic physical principle. The results of all this engineering are a staggering 450 horsepower at 6200 revolutions per minute and 428 lbs. ft of torque between 4000-4700 rpm. More than 95% of the engine’s peak torque is available between 2300 and 5300 rpm. All of this power – along with a six-speed Tiptronic? automatic transmission, quattro all-wheel drive, and the car’s lightweight aluminum construction – allows the A8 L W12 to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in a mere 5.0 seconds.

Drivetrain

The six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission found in every A8 offers a choice of operating and driving styles. For fully automatic convenience, simply place the gear selector in Drive (“D”). For added performance, a Sport mode (“S”) delays the automatic up-shifts for higher revs and a more spirited acceleration, while automatic downshifts occur faster during deceleration for added control with engine-brake and low-end torque. Whichever shift mode is selected, a Direct Shift Program (DSP) monitors and “learns” the primary operator’s driving style and then automatically selects from among 200 programmed shift patterns to optimize the gear changes for any given driving behavior, resulting in a nearly personalized transmission mode.

For drivers who prefer to manually select gears, the shift selector can be moved to the Tiptronic shift gate to the right of “D.” In this position, the driver can move the gear selector forward for up shifts and backward for downshifts. For an even sportier feel, the 2006 A8 can be equipped with shift paddles on the steering wheel when the optional four- spoke segmented wood/ leather steering wheel is selected.

General Information

Vehicle Type: 4-door sedan,
production car
Price: $118,900
Fuel Mileage: Unavailable
Drivetrain
Configuration: Front Engine/AWD
Engine: W12
Displacement: 5998 cc
Horsepower: 450 bhp @ 6200 rpm
Torque: 428 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Max RPM: Unavailable
Transmission: 6-Speed Tiptronic

Dimensions
Weight: Unavailable
Height: Unavailable
Length: Unavailable
Width: Unavailable
Wheelbase:  Unavailable
Track (f/r): Unavailable

Performance
0-60 mph: 5.0 sec
0-100 mph: Unavailable
¼ mile: Unavailable
Top Speed: 155 mph (limited)
Lateral acceleration: Unavailable
Braking 60-0 mph: Unavailable