*It is equipped with excellent handling characteristics for a smooth driving and riding experience.
*It is built with heated front and rear seats so you can stay comfortable all throughout the ride.
*It boasts a generous list of features, both standard and innovative ones alike.
*It has roomy interiors and huge cabin space to take up a huge amount of passengers, making it ideal for road trips and family vacation too.
*The unique winter weather capability is one of its major strengths, thus enabling you to drive safely and efficiently even through the toughest of environmental conditions.
*With its V8 engine offering a top of the line torque performance, this could easily be categorized as one of the fastest sedans in the market today.
*Its exterior features deliver quite well in styling and in offering a luxurious appeal to the vehicle.
ENGINE:The 2011 A8 goes on sale this fall at a starting price of about $90,000. The A8 will be available here with just one engine when it launches: the long-lived direct-injection, 4.2-liter DOHC V-8. As installed in this third-generation A8, the V-8 gains 22 hp and 4 lb-ft of torque over its previous iteration, with output now totaling 372 hp and 328 lb-ft. The horsepower figure is just enough to make it the least powerful in the segment, ceding eight ponies to the Lexus LS460 and 10 to the S550. Audi says the A8 returns 13-percent-better fuel economy than does its predecessor, which translates roughly to 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway for the new car.
DESIGN:From the outside, the 2011 A8 is clearly cut from four-ringed cloth. The tail almost completely mimics the rear of the latest A4, and the corporate grille is in full effect, even if it has grown from a goatee into more of a mini-beard. All four corners share a similar squared-off element, and the front quarters, if analyzed closely, hint at the upcoming Bentley Mulsanne (some interoffice cribbing, maybe?). The LED headlamps are distinctive and can vary the depth of their beams based on the proximity of oncoming traffic. Wheel sizes range from 17 inches to 20.
All A8 models get that ZF-supplied eight-speed automatic transmission, which really breathes new life into the old 4.2, and all have manumatic shifting and paddles on the steering wheel. We estimate the A8 will scoot to 60 mph in the mid-five-second range—middle of the pack in terms of acceleration. But what it lacks in outright speed, the A8 makes up for in sporting demeanor.
