2022 Audi S8 First Test: Sleeper Super Sedan
Our MotorTrend test team cycles through hundreds of vehicles a year, and an old pro like road test editor Chris Walton has been in and out of thousands of them during his career. So when he starts waxing poetic about a car like the 2022 Audi S8, you better believe we sit up and take notice.
"Wow. What a sleeper," Walton said of the S8 super sedan we recently had in for testing. "It's way too easy to find yourself driving 90 mph without noticing it. I could live with this car for the remainder of my life." That's a bold statement, Chris, do go on. "The whole thing kind of shrinks around you and makes it feel like an S6. Goodness, what an achievement this thing is."
He's right, of course, about all the sleeping and shrinking 2022 S8 does. This particular car looks downright menacing, as well, thanks in large part to its Daytona Gray pearl paint scheme offset by a Black Optic Plus package ($2,100) that adds 21-inch, 10-spoke gloss black rims shod with summer tires, and other blacked-out elements including Audi's famed four-ring badge adorning (what else?) a bold black grille.
There's also some menace in its exhaust note, a bombastic baritone that bellows out from its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, which produces 563 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. The engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission that proved smooth and quick under hard acceleration. It all works in concert to move the S8's significant 5,204-pound mass with authority.
Audi S8 0-60 mph Time: Very Impressive
Given its prodigious poundage, the 2022 S8's 0-60-mph time of 3.7 seconds is darn impressive. Its Quattro all-wheel-drive system and attendant sport differential certainly don't hurt matters when you're firing it out of the starting block, and the S8 also has a launch control feature that further aids the cause.
The test team reported some issues getting the S8 to launch right—but when it does, it launches hard. "Because the window of optimal boost and rpm is brief, and if you miss it you must wait a bit before trying launch control again. But when everything works, you get neck-snapping acceleration. Very harsh shifts from 1-2-3," road test analyst Alan Lau noted.
Audi S8 Quarter-Mile Time: Low 12s Will Do
After hammering past the 60-mph mark, the 2022 S8 barreled its way to a quarter-mile time of 12.2 seconds at 113.0 mphagain, a heck of a number for a car of its size and class. It's hard to find an apples-to-apples comparison to the 2022 S8 given its curb weight and configuration other than maybe the BMW Alpina B7 xDrive or the last-generation Mercedes S63 AMG, as most of the 2.5-ton machines we've tested in the past few years are either SUVs or EVs.
Interestingly, one of the closest EVs we found to compare the S8 against is another Audi, the dual-motor E-Tron GT Prestige sedan, which weighs in at 5,095 pounds. That car hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and on to a quarter mile of 11.9 seconds at 118.8 mph. Of course, the E-Tron doesn't get the S8's twin-turbo terror of a V-8, but you won't have to pay a gas-guzzler tax or live with the S8's officious inefficiency, either (it's EPA rated at 14/23/17 mpg city/highway/combined). Different power strokes for different folks.
Audi S8: Getting Its Oversteer On
As for the rest of the 2022 Audi S8's overall abilities, once again, with the "for its weight" caveat out of the way, its stopping distance of 105 feet from 60 mph is as impressive as its acceleration. Lau reported the following: "The brake pedal feel seems to be tuned with a good balance between comfort and performance. It's not overly touchy and easy to modulate. When it comes to very aggressive braking, they get the job done very well." Walton added that the brakes were "tremendous and easy to modulate to just stay barely out of the ABS" during his testing.
But it was out at our figure-eight (24.4 seconds at 0.79 g avg) and skidpad (0.95 g avg) tests where Walton truly fell in love with the S8 and its capabilities. "The way it turns in makes it feel so much smaller and lighter," he wrote in his notes. "The steering is a bit vague in feel but very precise. The car takes a very neutral attitude, just barely dancing on oversteer. The way it drives off the corner with the all-wheel drive (the S8 also comes standard with a four-wheel-steering system) is phenomenal."
Comfort, Plus a Whole Lot More
So yes, the S8 does things cars of its size, heft, and weight distribution (55/45 percent front/rear) have no business doing from a performance standpoint. But when it comes to its other mission as a cosseting luxury limo, all play and no relaxation can make for a bone-jarring bad time. That's where the S8's Comfort+ setting and its optional predictive active suspension ($6,000) come in to help smooth the road ahead. As with other systems of its type, the predictive suspension uses a camera to read the oncoming surface, sense jarring impacts or other undulations, and react accordingly to soften the S8's ride.
In addition to the fancy active footwork, the 2022 S8 has all manner of standard and optional luxury trappings (this particular S8's black interior, trimmed with carbon accents, looked stealthy chic), as well as safety systems and other craftsmanship befitting a car that starts at $118,995 and rang up at $135,595 as tested.
It's a car you won't see many of to begin with and one that you can be assured won't be around for much longer in its present configuration. It's a special sport sedan for a chosen few. So if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area and see one blow past you, it could very well be a certain MT staffer at the wheel (if he robbed a bank or raided his 401(k) to get one, that is). Be sure to say hi—if you can catch him.
Looks good! More details?2022 Audi S8 Specifications BASE PRICE $118,995 PRICE AS TESTED $135,595 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 4.0L Twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 32-valve 90-degree V-8 POWER (SAE NET) 563 hp @ 6,000 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 590 lb-ft @ 2,050 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,204 lb (55/45%) WHEELBASE 123.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 209.5 x 76.6 x 58.5 in 0-60 MPH 3.7 sec QUARTER MILE 12.2 sec @ 113.0 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 105 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.95 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 24.4 sec @ 0.79 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 14/23/17 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 369 miles ON SALE Now Show AllYou may also like
Speculation can be simple, a few folks gathered at a bar and wondering about the future. Creating a physical manifestation of that future and bringing it to life is anything but. Our process began with Garrett DeBry, an ArtCenter College of Design grad, concept artist for BMW and Toyota, and the man who developed our first Apple Car concept in 2016.DeBry is a proper futurist, spending hours poring over Syd Mead designs and listening to the Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049 soundtracks while working on sketches. From our side, we looked further into the future this time around, which afforded DeBry the freedom to design a vehicle that would fit into an Apple Car ecosystem, rather than imagining a comparatively simple autonomous Uber competitor.His inspirations range from the wraparound corner windows of Apple's flagship Chicago store to Amazon warehouse robots to the natural materials and organic shapes of the iconic midcentury modern Charles Eames lounge chair. On this project, DeBry worked to minimize automotive design to its core elements. This thought process is how we ended up with the ultra-slick suspended teardrop you see here, but that was only the start.Once DeBry submitted final sketches, we called on teams from around the world to lift his design off the page. Our second take on the Apple Car was painstakingly modeled in CAD so we could provide the files to a local 3-D print shop. After multiple days printing the 16-piece scale model you see here and bringing DeBry's design into the material world, it received countless coats of paint and finishing touches.Once we reached that point, Mumbai, India-based automotive photographer Kunaal Kelkar came to town to employ his own wizardry. Kelkar's work first came to our attention in 2020 when he published a shockingly realistic photo set that was in reality a scale Lamborghini Huracán posed on a wet treadmill. For the Apple Car, he spent four days building a future city almost entirely out of Apple products found around our offices. The results speak for themselves.
A terrifying-sounding weather phenomenon called "super fog" caused a fatal multi-car pileup on Interstate 95 in Florida this morning. A combination of dense foggy weather and lingering smoke from controlled burning in the area created a severe visibility problem for drivers. The Miami Herald says 17 cars were involved in the crash, which resulted in dozens of injuries and three deaths.Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes announced at a briefing that one crash involved 11 cars in the Northbound lanes of traffic passing through Volusia County, and another involved two passenger vehicles and four semi trucks in the Southbound lanes near Edgewater. The super fog was reported as the contributing cause of both incidents. Weather.com and AP reported smoke in the air was caused by a prescribed burn in an area near the highway.Screenshot from traffic camera. The National Weather Service for Melbourne, Florida lifted its weather advisory for the super fog issue around 9:00 a.m. this morning. In a statement, the Service says today's fog and smoke mix conditions limited driver visibility to fewer than 10 feet, which means you could only see pretty much just a single car length ahead of you. Here's how the Service describes super fog on its website:"Super fog forms when a mixture of smoke and moisture released from damp smoldering organic material such as brush, leaves and trees, mixes with cooler, nearly saturated air. Visibility is lowered to less than 10 feet. Under light wind conditions, super fog meanders through low terrain areas such as creek beds or drainage ditches. Super fog can be very dangerous when present over highways, and has been the cause of several large, multi-vehicle pileups."At highway speeds, this would mean there is zero time to react to anything in the road ahead. Hence why it caused a similar pileup crash to those you might see during a dense snow storm, during which pileup crashes are fairly common.Melbourne's Weather Service said today's crash was not the first of its kind caused by super fog. Similar incidents with the weather phenomenon caused large pileups on I-4 near Davenport, Florida in 2008, and again on I-75 near Gainesville in 2012. As ever, if you encounter foggy conditions—super or otherwise—it is wise to activate your hazards, slow down (or, if you pull over entirely, make sure you are off the roadway), and use extreme caution.
mercedes-benz g-class Full OverviewMastery. It's exceedingly rare, though I've seen it with my own eyes a few times. Caught an Alfred Ladzekpo drum solo once. Front-row seats at a Johnny Cash concert a quarter of a century ago. Performances that transcended what feels possible and ascended to the realm of the magical. But what does any of this have to do with a China Blue 2021 Mercedes-AMG G63?I've driven more cars than I can count all over Los Angeles. None has received a more positive reaction. Human beings seemed to be universally smitten with this China Blue G. Some degree of mastery is needed to achieve so much positive feedback. But can this softly leathered, pastel blue G-wagen be a masterpiece when it's a universe away from its not-so-humble origins? Initially conceived by the Shah of Iran as a military vehicle, the G has transcended every definition and categorization car marketers can think of. Remember, Mercedes was done with the G-Class back around 2007, and the GL (now the GLS) was supposed to replace the icon. Didn't quite work out that way. A quickie Google just showed me a 2021 G63 with an MSRP of $190K and 1,100 miles on the clock on sale for $340,000. What other vehicle on earth does that?After spending 72 hours with this particular G and contemplating how the concept of mastery applies to it, what can I say? What can I add to the conversation about an SUV that's literally selling for $150K over sticker, used? A little bit, I hope.The G63 would be better as an EV. Here come the slings and the arrows, I know, but hear me out. Yes, the twin side pipes make an awesome noise. Only AMG could have figured out a way to make twin-turbocharged V-8s sound this deeply angry, and the short-piped G might be the loudest and most brutal of them all. However, the EPA estimations for this 5,784-pound solid steel wildebeest are 12/16/14 mpg—terrible, and that I barely cracked 10 mpg was even worse. I'd like to leave my son a world worth inheriting, and if this G were an EV, it would ever so slightly help move us toward that goal.Nearly three tons of China Blue fun is already heavy, and going electric would obviously make the thing even heavier. How heavy are we talking? The downright amazing Rivian R1T weighs about 7,150 pounds, and that's a bit more than the 6,750 pounds I bet an EV G would clock in at. The Rivian has four motors, while the the Mercedes-EQ EQS580 has but two. But even if the upcoming EQG580 (Mercedes' lousy nomenclature, not mine) weighs more than the Rivian, its efficiency will likely more than quadruple, as the R1T is EPA-rated at 74/66/70 mpg-e. That's, frankly, huge.An electric G would probably be quicker, too. Not that the current car is a slouch. Our test SUV hit 60 mph in a quick but not otherworldly 3.9 seconds. Does the 577-hp G63 have any real competition? Not really, and that's part of what makes it such an icon. The 5,122-pound Jeep Wrangler 392 with a 470-hp V-8 hits 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, whereas the 835-hp Rivian R1T does so in 3.1 seconds (or 3.2 with off-road tires).The G63's quarter-mile time is 12.5 seconds at 109.9 mph, which is respectable for a brick. Nearly as bricklike, the 392 is on the G's heels with a 12.9-second run, though its trap speed is just 100.4 mph. That Rivian truck? It initially smokes the AMG with an 11.6-second blast down the quarter (or 11.7 on the off-road meats). But note the R1T's trap speed: just 110.8 mph. Looks like the Rivian's accelerative advantage is over after 1,320 feet.As for braking, it took AMG two years after the G63 launched in 2019 to come up with 20-inch wheels that would fit over its massive rotors. China Blue here rode around on 22s. Braking from 60 mph took 116 feet, which is neither great nor bad. Pretty average for a passenger vehicle, actually. The Wrangler 392 takes a spooky 133 feet (though, sadly, that's decent for a Jeep Wrangler), whereas the R1T stops from 60 mph in an even worse 135 feet. Let's hear it for those 14.8-inch front/13-inch rear rotors.Around our figure-eight test track, the G63 pogoed its way around in 26.8 seconds, exactly as quickly as a Mini Cooper S Convertible. Not quite sure what that means. The Jeep 392 turned in an embarrassing 29.3-second performance. For various reasons, we have yet to figure-eight a Rivian, but we will. That said, heavy pickup trucks tend to perform poorly in that particular test.Aside from the dreadful fuel economy numbers and a comically expensive barrier to entry—this example stickers at $180,150, before dealers add on their cruel market adjustments—is there anything not to love about the 2021 G63? No, I can't think of anything. It's perfectly sized (about the same as a Wrangler Unlimited and four-door Ford Bronco), and around town, it's just a joy to drive. Especially if your idea of joy is imperious, effortless cruising that makes you feel like a master of the universe. To use the parlance of our times, G-Wagens just hit different.I've heard some rumblings about Mercedes' impressive MBUX touchscreen system being unavailable (yet) on G-Wagens, including from a friend I partially strong-armed into buying a G550. But he's since recanted, telling me, "I like the scroll wheel better than a touchscreen, and there are no fingerprints all over the place."Like most owners, he'll never take his G off-road. However, I have no such scruples, and I took a different G63 equipped with the new AMG Trail package on some pretty treacherous trails, and the luxo-truck performed admirably. Scraped its chin a few times, but that's nothing a 1-inch lift wouldn't solve.Are we talking about an automotive masterpiece? I wager we are. The 2021 AMG G63 is as close to the mythical notion of perfection as a vehicle is likely to get. Others playing on this elevated field? The Porsche 911. That's kinda it.Here's what I mean: If the excellent Honda Accord went out of production tomorrow, I'd be miffed, but a dozen competitors would eagerly step in to take its place. Did anyone lose sleep over the death of the Ford Fusion?Like Mercedes with the G-Wagen, there was a time when Porsche actively tried to kill off the 911. But exactly like Mercedes and the Geländewagen, Porsche just couldn't do it. Irreplaceable? Essentially. What both Stuttgart-based manufacturers figured out is that the world would be worse off if their icons weren't in it. If that doesn't make a machine a masterpiece, I don't know what does.Looks good! More details?SPECIFICATIONS 2021 Mercedes-AMG G63 BASE PRICE $157,500 PRICE AS TESTED $180,150 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV ENGINE 4.0L/577-hp/627-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,784 lb (54/46%) WHEELBASE 113.8 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 191.9 x 79.3 x 77.4 in 0-60 MPH 3.9 sec QUARTER MILE 12.5 sec @ 109.9 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 116 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.78 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 26.8 sec @ 0.68 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 13/16/14 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 259/211 kWh/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.37 lb/mile Show All
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