Alan A

The latest issue of Motor Trend has a short feature on the Audi S8. I found it curious that they would be comparing it to the BMW M5 and MB E55 AMG (as well as the Jaguar XJR) and not to the MB S55 AMG. I guess from a pricing standpoint, the S8 is more in M5 and E55 territory than S55. Anyway, they have nice things to say about the car and its handling and power, but note that it needs more power to go up against the likes of the M5. Sounds like they are planning a comparison test with the 3 competitors they mention.

M5 ETR

Looking forward to a comparison...

R&T or C&D??? Ran a BMW vs XJR comparo a while back - M5 won... Then recently, they ran the "Defending Crown" test M5 vs E55 - M5 maintained title....

I hope that they do the same under the same conditions - perhaps all 4 together or just the M5 defending title against the S8.... No illusions here: The M5 will remain... In dry weather, the M5 is the victor 0-60, but BUT! The M5 is an under-steering pig Serious! I've had it out twice! I've pushed the 8 a few times now and it rocks!!! where the 5 will let go...

I think that the S8 will come in as a "matter of personal preference" choice, given all of the other things such as weight (including Quattro it's within 50 lbs of the M5!!!...) ASF etc... BTW: The MB is 400 lbs lighter than both the S8 and the M5....

I just think it will stack-up well...

ScottS8

This is very interesting stuff indeed. I know this is anecdotal, but I can report the following from a recent High Performance driving school I attended with my S8...

First, of the 4 instructors doing the course (all active F1 and/or ALMS racers, etc.), 3 pulled up in Audi products. Each said they wouldn't drive anything else day-to-day because of the performance characteristics of the Quattro system. Needless to say, they were extremely excited to see an S8 -- first one to take the course. With these guys in Audis, I knew I was on to something!

Re: performance vs. the M5, I'm wondering whether the article's authors take driver training into account when they do their tests. Two 5 Bmrs were at the course when I ran -- an M5 and a 540. I ran in their group most of the day and observed first hand that, on a road course with few long straight-aways, the 5 is at a disadvantage.

From what I witnessed, the 5 is an unforgiving car when pushed. In particular, it understeers bigtime, forcing alot of correction through the turns. Often, correction inputs caused the back end to come around. Since the owners were not professional drivers (or previous Porsche owners, they were not comfortable with the idea of "hanging the back end out" around curves.

On many occassions, therefore, the would start to lose the back end and go off line and off throttle. After a few hot turns, the drivers started braking harder into turns and "coasting" through the apex. This behavior got more pronounced as tires started to wear. In racing, the faster you can take a turn under control and the faster you can roll on the gas thru exit makes the difference. These cars were not making it easy to be fast in turns.

By constrast the S8 is dream in the curves. With Quattro, my lines remained rock solid, with very predictable drift so I could stay on the gas. Since the S8 gives enough acceleration to keep things close in the straights, had we been racing, the 5's would have been easy to pass.

(It's also worth noting that tip shifting was an advantage in a pool of average drivers like myself. The Bmr drivers missed shifts, had rev-matching trouble and generally found shifting around the track a factor that often unsettled their chassis. The S8, by contrast, provided smooth sailing all day.)

So, in summary, the M5 might be the better car for dragging at stop lights, but on a road with many curves, I'll take a quattro any day.

Last point: had I been running with two passengers in the back, their knees would have never touched the seat-backs in front. No so in the 5 design. What I'd really like to see is the S8 against cars with it's same interior volume, namely the S55 and the 750. The author's report would be considerably different!

downindenver

Ouch. No offense, but an M5 in an experienced drivers hands will outgun an S8. Not just the straights, either.

Audi quattros, in general, will understeer all day long. Its partially quattro and partially weight distribution. The Audis have more weight at the front. I've been there...really frustrating to autoX a quattro. I've been at the track and followed them through corners. Brake early, get on the gas early, and stay on it.

BMWs on the other hand, are typically very well balanced...usually right around 50/50 split. This makes the car -very- manageable, so that you can understeer or oversteer...all controlled by throttle position.

While I haven't driven an S8 (yet...I will very soon), I can't imagine its driving dynamics being drastically different than an A8. Same weight bias, same quattro. Higher limits...of course, but you can't get away from the physics. Compared to my A4, the A8 is cumbersome.

I'm not dissing on the S8/A8. Its not fair to compare them to the M5...they really should go up against a 7-series. Would you put the new M3 up against the S8? No way. The S8 will get killed on a road course. IMO, its an excellent autobahn burner, not a track car.