First Drive: 2005 Audi A8 L 6.0 Quattro
The 12-cylinder flagship sedan you'd expect from one brand--and not at all from the other
By Todd Lassa, Matt Stone
Photography by the Manufacturer
Audi sits in the luxury catbird seat for 2005: A new Mercedes S-Class is more than a year away, and the BMW 7 Series suffers the controversy of its styling and iDrive. This fall, a 450-horsepower, 6.0-liter W-12 joins the 330-horse A8 L V-8.
The W-12 is a technical wonder made from two 15-degree VR6 blocks joined in a 72-degree bank angle. Just 2mm longer than the 4.2 V-8, the engine fits nicely with quattro all-wheel drive. Improvements over the 420-horse VW Phaeton's W-12 include dry-sump oiling, 12-percent-lighter pistons, a 17-percent-lighter crankcase, maximum-speed-oriented intake runner length, better-breathing exhaust manifolds, and a 6200-rpm redline (up 200).
The handsome sedan is beautifully finished, with a choice of four- or five-passenger seating and myriad personalization options. Extras include 20-inch nine-spoke wheels, adaptive cruise control, and rear-seat entertainment.
Smooth, quiet, and subtle, even at full throttle, the 6.0 needs high autobahn speeds to show off its extra power. Our drive was limited by snowy winter conditions in the Alps, the car's Dunlop 255/40R19 SP Winter tires adding graininess to the ride. The A8 L W12's ride is stiffer, and its handling is sharper than that of the Mercedes S600, but is not as edgy or communicative as that of the 7 Series.