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Audi A8 premium luxury sedan scores with aluminum components
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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The term, flagship, comes up in automotive circles to define the top of a manufacturer's line of cars. Count it as one vehicle embodying the essence of a brand's character and showcasing innovations and forward-facing technologies which merge into a single mechanical package cast on wheels.
A flagship typically applies four doors to a sedan's conformation, installs a powerful engine with six or more cylinders, adds fancy interior fittings skewed to the plush side of comfort, then wraps all contents in a handsome container bearing progressive exterior styling lines.
In a word, a flagship dazzles.
A new flagship for Audi -- the German automaker which ships to the United States a line of precisely mannered sedans and wagons -- goes beyond dazzle as it forges some pioneering ideas for structural engineering and safety.
Called simply A8, the new flagship of Audi measures to mid-size dimensions but looks and feels big. It provides room for five passengers in a package that produces sports-car quickness through the management of massive V8 power.
Audi's top sedan arrives with choice of front-wheel or all-wheel-drive format. The AWD version, called Quattro, serves as favored feature in the deluxe edition outfitted with a 4.2-liter engine cranked to 300 hp.
And in case you may wonder how this flagship's alphanumeric title was derived, the A stands for Audi and 8 represents the size of platform in Audi lingo as referenced to the 8-cylinder power pack. Audi A8 3.7 becomes the badge of the front-drive version with 3.7-liter V8 aboard, while the Quattro edition lists as A8 4.2.
What makes the A8 such a pioneer?
It's the first production vehicle whose uni-body structure comes from alloy aluminum -- stamped, extruded and sheeted -- in a complicated system which increases rigidity and pares weight by almost a quarter of a ton.
Until now, only exotic sportsters in limited production packed so much aluminum.
This most abundant of all metals weighs far less than steel, so its extensive use in an automobile dramatically reduces mass and improves performance and fuel efficiency. But aluminum does not measure to the strength of steel, so thicker and more complicated structures are required to match steel's weight-bearing capacity. It's more difficult to work with too, particularly for joining one piece of aluminum to another, and special production techniques must be used to bond aluminum beams and rails and sheets together to form a unified framework that matches rigidity of steel.
Roots of Audi's new flagship trace to 1981, when Audi entered into a partnership with Alcoa, the world's volume leader in aluminum production, to explore feasibility of using aluminum as structural components of a car produced in quantity. Eventually, a special aluminum alloy would be devised, along with revolutionary new bonding methods, and the result became the Audi Space Frame, core of A8.
This entire unit-body framework, from side rails to C pillars and roof rails, comes from an aluminum alloy. Add sheets of aluminum for roof, side panels, hood and boot, and what you get is a car in sedan shape that's 40 percent lighter than the steel-based equivalent, but also one that's 40 percent more stiff and rigid, which sparks an athletic ability once suspension components and wheels attach.
Despite these sophisticated underpinnings, A8 appears rather conventional in a conservative although entirely elegant exterior design highlighted by sleek exterior lines which only hint of this car's dynamic character.
It's so slick in shape that A8 scores by far the highest mark for low-drag aerodynamic efficiency (0.29 Cd) among all of its class-size competitors.
Peel away the aluminum skin and you'll find more of this metal cast in mechanical components, such as suspension arms and the engine's block and cylinder heads.
The suspension of A8 3.7 serves as another technological high mark, as perhaps it should since it comes from the automaker which devised the concept of front-wheel-drive vehicles more than six decades ago. It seems that Audi's innovative 4-link independent front suspension geometry manages the impossible for front-wheel-drive vehicles by eliminating torque steer, whereby the car pulls to one side when rapidly accelerating or drifts to the other when braking hard.
The overall suspension package, independent at all corners, sets up a highly compliant and forgiving ride quality which, in the European touring tradition, encourages an active style for a hands-on type of driver.
Speed-sensitive power rack and pinion steering feels precise and quick, and for braking, A8 packs big disc brakes coupled to a computerized anti-lock system as well as an electronic differential lock to check wheel spin.
Quattro, that term in Audi-talk denoting all-wheel-drive, applies to A8 4.2, which also employs the front suspension while distributing power to all four wheels for improved traction on slippery pavement. As an ultimate safety system for controlling tire grip, the Quattro becomes the only all-wheel-drive sedan choice in class.
Powerplants for both A8 versions, when keyed to the weight-saving aluminum superstructure and body parts, exhibit impressive power-to-weight strength.
The 3.7-liter V8 -- with rating of 230 hp in a vehicle tipping scales at 3,682 pounds -- calculates to only 16 pounds for each unit of horsepower, which romps over rivals.
The 4.2 V8, at best-in-class 300 hp for a 3,902 lb car, knocks that ratio down to an awesome 13 lb/hp -- and rips from zero to 60 mph in only 6.9 seconds.
It feels downright lustful in action.
One driver spend an entire week living out of the A8 4.2, and the experience proved to be my most enjoyable and rewarding sedan test ever. The A8 was so lively and quick when asked, yet remarkably plush too.
The interior seems larger than A8's mid-size dimensions suggest. Two front bucket seats stand between a functional console, and a 3-person rear bench with twin sculptured spaces provides so much legroom that a full-frame rider can easily cross legs in comfort.
Rich Napa leather covers all seat surfaces, while glossy burled walnut faces dash, console and doors. High-tech instruments abound, and there's power-everything, plus two climate zones and, as ultimate safety touch, six airbags including the first application of side bags in rear seats.
What an incredible car Audi has crafted with A8, but it comes with a premium price chart commencing around $57,000.
1997 AUDI A8
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1997 AUDI A8 Specs |
| Description: |
Mid-size luxury sedan |
| Model Options: |
Mid-size luxury sedan |
| Wheelbase: |
113.0 inches |
| Overall Length: |
198.2 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 3.7 V8
DOHC 4.2 V8
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| Transmission: |
Auto/5 |
| Drive: |
Front, Quattro (AWD) |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
6 |
| Gas Mileage: |
3.7: 17/26 mpg
4.2: 17/25 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 57,400 to $ 69,000 |
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