2016 Audi S8 Plus

Ever since it had a starring role in the Ronin, I think the S8 has been a super-sedan apart from its BMW (Or rather, Alpina? - Ed.)  and Mercedes-AMG rivals. There's something mysterious about the S8's understated personality. Perhaps that's due to the relative scarcity of them on the road, or simply that the S63 and S65 are shouting so loudly about themselves from the rooftops it drowns out the S8's charm. Well, how does 605 hp and a 3.8 second sprint to 60 mph sound to you? That's what the 2015 S8 Plus brings to the table.

The normal, U.S.-spec Audi S8 packs a 520 hp version of the twin-turbo, 4-liter TFSI engine. In Plus form, Audi's uncorked an additional 85 hp and 35 lb-ft of torque. For short bursts, the Plus can overboost to 553 lb-ft of torque, for a total of 72 lb-ft more than the regular S8. These are not insubstantial increases. Audi credits them to engine management, modified exhaust valves, and revised turbocharger geometry.

That being said, the 0-60 sprint is only knocked off by 0.1 seconds, although full instrumented testing would probably reveal more substantial performance gains as speeds climb. The Plus can also be de-restricted to reach 189.5 mph with the "dynamic package" (standard in the German market, an open question for other markets), which is awfully quick for a car that can seat five adults in a high degree of comfort. The Plus is so far only available in the normal wheelbase length, by the way.

As per usual, the S8 Plus features quattro and an 8-speed Tiptronic gearbox. Adaptive air suspension and 21-inch wheels help on the handling front. Appearance changes are typically subtle: carbon fiber fender air inlets, a matte black honeycomb grille insert, smoked taillights, a gloss black diffuser with a carbon fiber accent, and quad gloss black oval exhaust outlets. A bevy of S8 badging is an optional package—see? Audi subtlety at work, again.

Here's one thing we don't know: whether the S8 Plus will make it to North America (we're asking Audi representative right now, and we'll let you know what they say). The R8 Plus most certainly will, so it's not a matter of the "Plus" submodel being a European exclusive.

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Author : rakesh

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