Garycw

Personally I've always preferred a V8. BUT, some of what you gain in horsepower you loose in added weight. I just got my first 2011 A8L 4.2 and its Fast! However the wife's 3013 A5 2.0 T would keep right up with it.

Jack88

I promise if you lined the two up, the A8 would win every time. It's more luxurious nature hides a bit of the acceleration from you. Sure, it's heavier, but with 160hp extra, the little A5 hasn't got a prayer. While the smaller car makes excellent use of it's lower output from a standstill, it lacks the midrange punch of the naturally aspirated V8, and the hp deficit becomes more apparent the faster you go.

Garycw

Point taken. Never thought it could outrun the 8, just do a pretty good job keeping up, if only for a small amount of time.
Just got a little preview of the 4.2 8L acceleration. Made a left turn near my house onto a slight downhill to a straight away. Kicked it down in sport and felt like I was launched by a rocket. Went to 90 on a matter of seconds.
I'd feel much safer in the 8 @140mph than the 5. Too light.

Jack88

I'd feel safer in the A8 at 140 as well, if it could get there. Pesky limiter.

Garycw

I thought the US. had them limited to 150mpg? That's what my 2000 740il supposedily is. Unless they changed it in later years or if it's a Audi thing. I might give it a try when I'm in Florida sometime. There's some nice flat stretches of road or even the gandy bridge in Tampa seems to be a favorite with the Lambroghinis

Jack88

Even my CL has a 130 limiter. If I want to go faster, I'm gonna have to either pony up for the tune or hop in the Dodge. Unfortunately, I live in the D.C. metro, so there's not really a safe place to push it much more than the limiter anyway, nevermind the police.

Garycw

I'm more interested in how fast I can get to 100mph rather than how much I can go past that. I had a little Hyundai Sonata that would go 130 easy. The guy in the news a few weeks ago obviously had his limiter altered. HP clocked him at 205mph in a Camero SS. Guess he had his ticket framed.

Jack88

A Camaro does not have a limiter. Neither does my Dodge. I can tell you my CL pulls like a train all the way up to the limiter, and only takes about 14-15 seconds to get there from a stand still. The higher powered Dodge is a fuzz quicker, but thanks to the manual transmission, stiffer suspension, and excellent exhaust note, feels a lot quicker. The ability to bark the tires going into 4th at 90mph doesn't hurt, either(although it seems to have lost that ability with my new wider, stickier tires.) When the car pulls like that, a 130mph limiter can easily be a buzzkill. Anyone here with an S8 will attest to that. As previously noted, I seldom hit the limiter these days because of where I currently live. As much as I love running it up, I will not do it with anyone around. People are too unpredictable, and present by far and above the biggest risk factor. Play responsibly, kids. I do agree, then, that the 0-100 is of the most common use, and is sufficient to impress. Most people tend to get scared above that number, I've noticed.

the_duke

Well I didn't drive the S8. The A8 was more than enough. Plus I like the longer car. I was surprised to see the big empty space under the hood were the air box on an S8 would go. overall it looks like it would be a lot easier to work on than my A8. Not that I expect major repairs in the near future. But it is impressive how compact they have made the engine compared to my '05 4.2l. Unfortunately now I have to buy one. The black on black color combo isn't my favorite but my wife loved it (her A6 is black on black). The car is very clean and the dealer is selling it for one of his friends on consignment so I can talk to the owner if I want.

Garycw

Love the black on black. Going on the 4th color combo of that. Hate the xtra exterior work involved, but worth it in the end. High heat temps is another consideration. As with any color I recommend all shades up and front reflector shade. Parked mine with sun coming through windshield yesterday in 90 degrees/ no shade. 2 hours it was in the 150-160 degree range inside. Thank goodness for col led seats.