WR TV: 2015 Audi S8

This week we’re behind the wheel of the Audi’s full sized luxury sedan, the refreshed-for-2015 A8, here in performance specification as the S8. The big Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system is an ideal fit for Michigan’s currently wintery weather – so much so that we really couldn’t keep ourselves out of this bruiser from Ingolstadt and decided to include a third night time drive video to see how the S8 fared in the snowy conditions with compromised visibility.

 

The S8 is powered by a twin turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 that outputs a decidedly healthy 520 horsepower and 481 pound-feet of torque. That powerplant is hooked up to an 8-speed automatic transmission which sends the twist to all four wheels. That’s enough to get the nearly 4700-pound S8 to sixty miles per hour from a standstill in a mere 3.9 seconds on its way to an electronically limited 155 mile per hour top speed.

 

Our tester’s 21-inch five-spoke alloys would normally be wrapped in 275/35R21 summer tires, but instead arrived with much more appropriate Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D rubber, which helped to bolster confidence behind the wheel in less-than-ideal weather.

 

The 2015 Audi S8 starts at $114,900 with navigation, the aforementioned powertrain and various comfort and safety features like four-zone climate control and a heads up display as standard. Our tester came with a number of options including Bang and Olufsen advanced audio, a sport exhaust system, and Audi Design interior appointments which bring the grand total to $132,225. Let’s see what that kind of coin gets you in a full-sized Audi luxury sports sedan: