AudiWorld Forums

Driven: Audi S8 Plus

By - February 11, 2016

Audi-S8-Plus-5

The time to ponder a car’s track-worthiness is not while you are next in line for hot laps at Daytona International Speedway. Yet here we are, sitting in an Audi S8 Plus, wondering how well this big machine will behave on a very big, very fast, and very intimidating racetrack.

We have our seat massagers engaged (of course), every single driver aid turned OFF (yes, off), dynamic mode selected, and a racing pulse. The fact that our street car has more power than the R8 LMS that will be competing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is not lost on us.

This is the moment every automotive enthusiast dreams of, yet we were wracked with nervous energy.

As we exit pit lane and enter the infield course of DIS via the tight left-hand turn 1, we find that this very large sedan loves to play. With the stability control switched off, the tendency toward understeer is gone, and the S8 Plus rotates beautifully in the infield turns. The tires are complaining mightily while trying to contain the grunt of the 4.0 liter, direct injected bi-turbo engine, not to mention the heavy cornering loads. The 8 speed ZF tiptronic transmission snaps off shifts as crisply and smoothly as we could ever want, with no delay. And the brakes, oh those wonderful Carbon Ceramic brakes. These things are truly amazing at bringing the car down from big speeds. This car is genuinely quick, and it has the braking performance to match, thank goodness.

As impressive as the S8 Plus is in the infield turns, the real fun came as we rounded turn 6, and entered the high banks. Nothing you have ever done in a car can prepare you for all of the sensations of driving on the 32 degree banked turns at Daytona. There is the “holy crap I am driving on Daytona” moment, then the “what happens if a car gets squirrely on Daytona” then the “can this car handle these G-forces at these speeds”. We’re not sure how fast the S8 Plus can safely go on the high banks at Daytona, but we decided around 135 was fast enough given all of the unknowns. And it was ridiculously fun.

Because many race tracks are wide and smooth, street cars sometimes feel slow, and you can easily max them out on track. The S8 Plus was not like that. The acceleration was blistering out of the International Horseshoe and the Bus Stop. With the Dynamic package, the top speed is in the neighborhood of 190mph, and while we didn’t quite get there (we think we got in the 150s), we have no doubt we could have if we chose to either skip the chicane, or were more willing to test the limits of the brakes and handling by getting max speed and taking the chicane. Keep in mind; we’d be doing race car speeds in a street car, with street tires, street brakes, and street safety equipment. Since there was no Rolex watch waiting for us in the pits, we decided to skip the heroics, and took it (relatively) easy.

There are very few cars that we would put higher on our ultimate “if I had the money” car list than the Audi S8 Plus. While not overtly sporty or aggressive looking, the S8 Plus is a truly athletic car. And as uber-luxury car go, this is first a driver’s car. The rear Sports Differential has a lot to do with it for sure, but even without it the native chassis balance of the D4 chassis is superb. Yes, it’s a big car, but thanks to the all-aluminum construction, it is not terribly heavy. It’s only a couple hundred pounds heavier than an RS 7, for example.

Audi-S8-Plus-3

The specific cars we drove were painted Florett Silver Matte, which is an S8 Plus exclusive finish.  This paint was truly stunning on the elegantly designed all aluminum body. Audi also fitted them with the Dynamic package, which includes some aero tweaks to the underbelly, as well as a very subtle carbon fiber decklid lip spoiler so it can safely manage the higher top speed.

Of the 2 cars we drove in Florida (the other being the RS 7 Performance), we spent the most time in the S8 Plus, and couldn’t have been happier about it. Sure the RS 7 is an amazingly fun car to drive, but there isn’t a car built that we’d rather be IN than an S8 Plus. The seats are unbelievably comfortable, supportive and surprisingly sporty. The fit and finish is pure perfection, and the design, now nearing the end of its run, is still as elegant and functional as it was the first time we saw it in 2010.

Audi-S8-Plus-2

Our car served us exceedingly well for our Daytona 24 Hours weekend. It exhilarated us on the track, it coddled us as we drove to and from the hotel, and it actually made a perfectly quiet place to grab a nap at 3am during the race, which we couldn’t pull ourselves away from. Go back to the hotel? Why bother, we have an S8 Plus to sleep in!

A note about the photos – We stopped in Sebring on our way from Miami to Daytona Beach, where we took some photos. we found it too busy to get good photos of the S8 Plus while at Daytona Speedway, most unfortunately. 

The S8 Plus is more than a name change, it brings more power, more style and a host of other items that the former S8 didn’t offer.

 

Features
Safety | Security
  • Driver and front passenger dual-stage airbags, thorax side airbags, knee airbags and Sideguard® head curtain airbags 1
  • Rear-passenger thorax side airbags 1
  • Front passenger occupant detection—for airbags 1
  • Power central locking system with safety unlock feature if airbags deploy
  • Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with secondary collision brake assist and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and brake assist
  • Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with traction control (ASR)
  • Tire pressure monitoring system
  • Safety belt reminder for driver and front passenger
  • Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) in rear seats
  • Electromechanical parking brake
Exterior
  • Platinum Gray Singleframe® grille
  • Full LED headlights
  • Automatic headlights
  • High-beam assistant
  • LED taillights and rear fog lights
  • Power-adjustable, power-folding, auto-dimming, heated exterior side mirrors with memory
  • Headlight washing system
  • S model quad exhaust outlets
  • Aluminum-optic exterior side mirror housings
  • Power trunk with hands-free release
  • Rear lip spoiler
  • LED turn-indicator lights integrated into the exterior side mirrors
  • Heated windshield washer nozzles
  • S model specific front/rear fasciae and side sills
  • Power-soft closing doors
  • Aluminum-optic front/rear twin-blade fins
Interior
  • Four-zone automatic climate control
  • Three-spoke multifunction sport steering wheel with shift paddles (with S8 badging)
  • Power tilt and telescopic adjustable steering column
  • Power windows with one-touch up/down operation and pinch protection
  • Decorative interior inlays 2
  • Black Alcantara® headliner
  • Sunroof
  • Dual-pane acoustic glass
  • Power rear side and rear sunshades
  • Ambient LED interior lighting plus
  • Shift lever with Carbon Atlas inlay
Seating
  • Valcona leather interior
  • 22-way power front sport/comfort seats, including power lumbar adjustment, ventilation, massage function, memory and diamond stitching
  • Heated front seats
  • Front and rear comfort headrests
  • Extended Leather package (includes airbag cap, center console, door armrests and pulls)
Infotainment | Technology
  • MMI® navigation plus with voice control 3
  • MMI® touch with handwriting-recognition technology
  • Audi connect® with six-month trial subscription 4
  • BOSE® Surround Sound System with 14 speakers, AudioPilot® noise compensation and 630 watts
  • 7″ color driver information system
  • HD Radio™ Technology
  • SiriusXM® Satellite Radio with 90-day trial subscription 5
  • SiriusXM® Traffic with four-year subscription 5
  • SD card slot with 32GB operating capacity (dual slots)
  • Audi music interface with Lightning adapter cable
  • BLUETOOTH® wireless technology preparation for compatible mobile phones 6
  • BLUETOOTH® streaming audio for compatible devices 6
  • Garage door opener (HomeLink®)
  • Audi advanced key — keyless start, stop and entry 7
  • In-dash DVD player
  • Parking system plus with rear view camera (front and rear acoustic parking sensors)
  • Top and corner view camera system
  • Audi side assist and Audi pre sense® rear
  • Head-up display with navigation information
  • Audi drive select
  • Rain/light sensor for automatic windshield wipers and headlights

Technical Specs

  • Engineering | Performance

    Engine type V8 engine with cylinder on demand™ engine efficiency technology

    Displacement (cc)/Bore and stroke (mm) 3,991/84.5 x 89.5

    Horsepower (@ rpm) 605 @ 6,100-6,800

    Torque (lb-ft @ rpm) 517 @ 1,750-6,000 (up to 553 @ 2,500-5,500 with overboost)

    Engine block Aluminum-alloy

    Cylinder head Aluminum-alloy

    Valvetrain 32-valve DOHC

    Induction/fuel injection Turbocharged/TFSI®

    Acceleration (0 – 60 mph) 3.7 seconds

    Top track speed 155 mph (optionally increased to 190 mph) 8

  • Electrical System

    Battery 12 Volts – 92 amp

    Alternator 14 Volts – 190 amp

  • Transmission | Drivetrain

    Transmission Eight-speed Tiptronic® automatic transmission with quattro® all-wheel drive and sport differential

    Gear ratios: 1st 4.714

    Gear ratios: 2nd 3.143

    Gear ratios: 3rd 2.106

    Gear ratios: 4th 1.667

    Gear ratios: 5th 1.285

    Gear ratios: 6th 1.000

    Gear ratios: 7th 0.839

    Gear ratios: 8th 0.667

    Gear ratios: Reverse 3.317

    Gear ratios: Final Drive 3.204

  • Steering

    Type Electromechanical power steering system (with dynamic steering feature)

    Ratio 15.1:1

    Turning diameter (curb-to-curb) (ft) 40.4

  • Suspension

    Front Five-link front suspension / Audi adaptive air suspension (with S8 plus model specific tuning)

    Rear Trapezoidal-link rear suspension / Audi adaptive air suspension (with S8 plus model specific tuning)

  • Brakes

    Front (in) 15.7 (ventilated)

    Rear (in) 14.0 (ventilated)

  • Body

    Material ultra® lightweight technology — ASF® aluminum construction

  • Warranty | Maintenance

    Warranty 4-year/50,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty

    Maintenance 12-month/5,000-mile (whichever occurs first) NO CHARGE first scheduled maintenance

  • Exterior Measurements

    Wheelbase (in) 117.9

    Length (in) 202.6

    Height (in) 57.4

    Overall width with mirrors (in) 83.1

    Overall width without mirrors (in) 76.7

    Track front (in) 64.3

    Track rear (in) 64.9

    Curb weight (lb) 4,685

    Drag coefficient (Cw) 0.28

  • Interior Measurements

    Head room (in, front) 37.2

    Head room (in, rear) 39.1

    Leg room (in, front) 41.4

    Leg room (in, rear) 38.7

    Shoulder room (in, front) 59.1

    Shoulder room (in, rear) 57.8

    Cargo volume (cu ft, cu ft, rear seatbacks up/folded) 14.2

    Seating capacity 5

  • EPA Estimates | Capacities

    City TBA mpg 9

    Highway TBA mpg 9

    Combined TBA mpg 9

    Engine oil (qt) 9.2

    Fuel (gal) 21.7

    Recommended fuel Premium

    Emissions rating ULEV II


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:07 PM.