The four ringed automaker has officially unveiled the S8 variation of their flagship sedan, the Audi A8.
With the public premiere scheduled to take place at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 2012 Audi S8 comes with a series of sportier, yet discrete styling touches that include a new chrome grille, a reshaped front apron and front lip, a new rear bumper designed to accommodate the four exhaust pipes plus 20 inch alloys wrapped in tires size 265/40.
Inside the 2012 Audi S8 the automaker has also added a series of sportier looking elements, and this includes the sport seats and the sports steering wheel, but as you can imagine, the most important aspect about this new model is under the bonnet. That is where the company’s engineers have fitted a 4.0-litre TFSI twin-turbo V8 featuring direct-injection and tuned to produce 520 HP and 650 Nm (479,42 lb-ft) of torque between 1,700 and 5,500 rpm.
If you are familiar with the previous generation, then you will notice that the 2012 Audi S8 is a car more powerful by 70 horses, and the good news is that it is also more fuel efficient, as the automaker claims it will cover 100 Km on just 13.2 litres of fuel (17.8 mpg / US rating). That means a 23 percent improvement over the outgoing generation.
This new 4.0-litre V8 comes with cylinder deactivation technology, start-stop and energy recuperation systems, while the rest of the car, and by that we mean its air suspension has been enhanced with a variable damping system which allows the car to have three different ground clearance levels.
Finally the 2012 Audi S8 comes with 4 internally ventilated discs size 400mm at the front and 365 mm at the rear.
Pricing for the new S8 will be announced at a later time.
