fusilier

The 8s have more sound proofing, more padding in the floor, double carpets (carpet is heavy).

More gizmos on the seats. Larger AC, more AC ducts. All this stuff adds up. I'm certain that the 8s have more deadweight than the 6s. the question is how much. Knowing Audi, if the 8s frame comes in 500lbs less than the 6. They would just pile in 200lbs of extra sound proofing. Seeing as how Mercedes trimmed 500lbs off the S class by going to aluminum bits. And that the stripped Champion RS6 is 3400lbs or so,(meaning 600lbs of extras) and they added a rollcage. So maybe 700lbs of junk. I think the A8s can be stripped down to 3000lbs.

Sven_S8

The carpets alone are massive... and there's a lot of insulation, sound proofing and whatnot.

My S8 (the 1725kg one) has double windows as well, all options (exc. ext. heater), solar sunroof, etc. Here that's all included in the weight that ends up on the car papers. (To make sure they don't miss out on any road tax) :-/

Sure, it's a bigger car, but I think too a 'bare' 8 will weigh less than a bare 6.

If I find out more I'll let you know.

JimR

When I did my XM install, I had the back seats out, was under carpet edges, into the driver's carpets, etc. The stuff is everywhere, and is dense and heavy.

mclarenm8d

Write up about it in a recent mag (Car and Driver?).

Not sure if one could get a 4.2 D2 down to 3000, but a worthy goal, nonetheless. Definitely a fun journey.

There's also a big chunk by getting the Audi supplied battery out (series 79??) and swapping in a lighter. For my 4.2 A6, the relief holes already exist for the brackets to go with a battery from an 2.8/A4. If you are planning to track, you won't need to worry about capacity for driving all the electronic gadgets, and could probably get by with a lightweight.

CLeonard

All those things have motors, cables, and brackets which equal serious weight. Then also factor in all the impact protection you could do away with (since you'd be installing a cage). Most doors have massive beams going through them. Front and rear bumpers eliminated with only the shell remaining. The A/C could also be pulled which will weigh an easy 100 lbs.

I race Porsche 911's and they are a perfect example of what "luxury items" and modern safety requirements do to weight. The 911 chasis pretty much remained the same from 1963 to 1989. The early models were bare bones, no power items, no A/C, and if stripped down to RS spec would weight just a tad over 2100lbs. Gradually they got more and more "stuff" to the point that in '89 they weighed in at 2820lbs! That is 700 lbs of "stuff" (and remember this is still the same motor, body, suspension, etc), and the '89 didn't have nearly the "stuff" the A8 does. So I would think 1000lbs would be easy to shave off the A8 if you were to take out everything unessential to racing.

But racing w/o panels is not a good idea, even if they aren't necessary for strength. Smooth airflow is just as important as anything when racing, and a body w/o panels would not be fun to drive at higher speeds.

Colby

nem02-S8

I wonder if anybody has counted up the number of electric motors in the interior ... seat back, seat rake, seat height, lumbar, sealbetl height, headrest height ... others?

Intriguied by early posts from Ryoung and April, I've often wondered if you could get 4-500 pounds out of the car without it becoming too harsh for everyday street use. Acceleration, handling, ride, and mileage would all improve witrhout stressing the motor.

CLeonard

My 911 is street legal and the 500 lbs that I've shaved off of it has made it handle, brake and accelerate better, but anything I got rid of came at a price (or it wouldn't have been there). With all the sound deadening material gone, it is quite loud. No A/C makes it miserable on hot summer days. No front/rear bumper (just fiberglass shells) pretty much guarantees a totalled frame (and possibly more severe injuries) in the event of an accident. But it's my toy car, I don't drive it daily, so the sacrifices were worth the performance gain.

In a daily driver, I wouldn't muck with it. Not to mention, 500lbs off a car that weighs 2600lbs is huge, 500lbs off a car that weighs 4000lbs isn't nearly as spectacular. You'd lose all the things that make an A8 what it is, for a slightly nimbler and faster car. Not worth it.

Colby

ryoung

You'd struggle to get down to 3500 lb and "lose all the things that make an A8 what it is." Don't misunderstand me, I certainly have different priorities than Audi, and <A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/6874.phtml">My Design</a> would have been much lighter from the beginning without making most of these sacrifices necessary.

BTW: For a track only car, you can start with a brand new 3150 lb Mitsubishi EVO RS for less than $27000, and that does include air conditioning. The EVO's AWD system is much more sophisticated than the simple Torsen of the Audi, it has the power/weight of an S8, and Brembo brakes front and rear. On the track, it'd run rings around a 3500 lb S8 ... and 99.9% of all other production cars.

fusilier

Still its nice to have a frame with which fiberglass panels can be made to further lighten the weight with no structural penalty.

AntiSocial

Trying to make one into a racecar is akin to putting suede headliner and leather seats in an Evo or STi. It's still just an A8 and will chew through brakes and tires and never handle as well as real sports cars.