• Photo gallery: This is the Audi S8

After the appearance of the fourth generation of the Audi A8 in 2018, it was logical to wait for the mandatory S version of the Ingolstadt brand representation saloon. A quarter of a century after the launch of the A8, the Audi S8 does it with a 4-liter TFSI V8 petrol engine, which for the occasion yields up to 571 hp of power and 800 Nm of maximum torque. But not only does the power count ....

'Yes, Minister' and its sequel, 'Yes Prime Minister' were two British humor series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1980 and 1988, awarded several BAFTAs, which narrated the ins and outs between a fictional Minister of Administrative Affairs, eager to put Several reforms were under way, but he ran into the secretary of the ministry who did not want to change the state of affairs.

I have no doubt that for once the minister James Hacker and his secretary Sir Humphrey would have agreed on the election of the Audi S8 for their trips to the Palace of Westminter.

The exterior design does not present any radical change, being only the front bumper, the thresholds of the doors, the aluminum mirror housings, the 20-inch wheels or the 21 "Audi Sport wheels and the two double-exhaust exhausts.

With 5.17 meters long , the new model is 32 mm larger , which makes the luxurious lounge more spacious where the rear passengers have exceptional comfort thanks to stimulation and massage functions, although a simple shot is missing USB But the real 'top secret' is the right seat for its reclining, a real First Class armchair if the minister does not travel in the car!

But let's go to the important thing, the new Audi S8 has resorted to the latest evolution of the 4.0 TFSI V8 biturbo petrol engine with a boost pressure of 1.8 bar, which if in the previous generation it had 520 hp and 650 Nm, now It yields 571 HP of power and 800 Nm of maximum torque between 2,000 and 4,500 rpm. This allows an acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 3.8 seconds (4.1 seconds in the 2012 version) with a maximum speed limited to 250 km / h .

The average fuel consumption is 11.4 l / 100 km and the emission level of 258 g / km , which is to be compensated with a hybridization system 'Mild Hybrid' based on a reversible alternator / starter motor 48 volts that, driven by the crankshaft, can recover up to 8 kW of energy that is stored in a battery under the trunk with a capacity of 0.47 kWh.

Traveling between 55 and 160 km / h, the new S8 can move forward recovering energy or with the engine idling or deactivated for 40 seconds, starting when accelerating again. One of the cylinder benches can also be deactivated, saving 0.8 liters of fuel .

The new Audi S8 equips as standard the predictive active suspension that can lower or raise each wheel pneumatically by means of an electromechanical motor, thus managing to control both the lateral balancing when tackling a curve and the pitching when accelerating or braking, as well as the irregularities of the firm that scans a front camera in the central upper part of the windshield.

It also ensures that the body can lean towards the inside of the curve up to 3 degrees , thereby reducing lateral acceleration over the occupants. The maximum angle of inclination of the body is just 2.5 degrees, compared to about 5 degrees offered by the standard suspension. The active suspension also allows the body to be raised 50 mm by opening the doors to raise or lower more comfortably.

This, combined with the dynamic steering to the four wheels , which presents an independent adjustment of the steering angles of the front and rear axle where at medium and high speeds makes the rear wheels rotate up to 1.5 degrees in the same direction as the forward It means that 'the wolf removes the skin of a lamb' if we get into a curvy road, once reserved for more agile and smaller vehicles.

The Quattro permanent all-wheel drive , which in the S8 has a sports rear differential, coupled with the 8-speed Triptronic gearbox, in which you can choose to make it work automatically in modes E, D and S, or change manually , and the dynamic four-wheel steering 'shorten' the battle in practice and allows the Audi S8 to draw a paella by inscribing the driver perfectly between the white lines that delimit the shoulder and the median, which is only reached by stepping on if One enters very past.

The 571 hp are noticeable and are not percherones, that is, they project you forward and not upwards, although the acoustic insulation does not allow you to enjoy a special sound through the two double exhausts of the rear.

To stop the more than two tons of weight of the Audi S8, it comes standard with 400mm steel disc brakes and six-piston calipers , and optionally with ventilated carboceramic discs of 420mm front and 370mm with 10 pistons and that 9.6 kilos lighter.

Sitting at the wheel there is a double central display of the dashboard that can be adjusted in two different configurations. The revolution counter and the speedometer appear as large classic clocks in the 'driving' mode, but a special S-performance format can also be selected in which the central image is the revolution counter shown as a square-shaped graph, with indications on the power and torque Engine as percentages.

In addition, the optional Head-up display is very useful to avoid looking away from the road by projecting different information on the windshield. As for the safety of the Audi S8, the German firm quantifies up to 38 driver assistance systems, on which a side impact assistant stands out, which if it detects a possible collision causes the suspension to raise the body immediately 80 mm to minimize damage to the occupants

The price of the Audi S8 is not confirmed, but seen in Germany would be around 150,000 euros .

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