The S8 is available only on the short-wheelbase A8 platform, which is more than 100 pounds lighter than the stretched version, but it still comfortably seats four adults taller than six feet. Its equipment levels are similar to those of the range-topper A8L W-12 and include amenities such as sumptuous Valcona leather seats with heavier bolsters and an Alcantara headliner. The options list is short, with two new choices: A back-up camera is now part of the $5000 Premium package, and Audi has gotten rid of the distorted fisheye look that plagues many other manufacturers’ displays with post processing. There’s also an astonishing 1100-watt Bang & Olufsen 14-speaker stereo that, for $7800, brings lifelike sound to the cabin.

Like Mercedes-Benz’s AMG and BMW’s M, Audi’s S division serves as Ingolstadt’s in-house tuning firm. Over the past two decades, not the easiest time for Audi in America, the “S” has become a respected badge among enthusiasts, and deservedly so. The 2007 S8, built exclusively from the short-wheelbase (115.9 inches) A8 platform, is intended as the ultra-S in Audi’s stable, gunning for both BMW’s M5 and 760i models, as well as the brawniest S-Class that AMG can throw down.

Naturally, that gunning starts with an engine that builds torque like high schoolers build hormones. For the S8, Audi jumped the fence into Italy, paying a call to Lamborghini — also owned by the Volkswagen Group — to lift the Gallardo’s 40-valve V10 power plant. Audi bored Lambo’s 5.0-liter engine out to 5.2 liters and fit its own FSI gasoline direct-injection technology.

Translated into German, the V10 makes 450 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,500. That 7,000-rpm mark is just a hair off redline and the engine feels strong and steady from just off idle to the top end of the tach. The V10’s got no weak spots, but there’s no place in the powerband where it catches a sudden gust of wind either.

The six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and shorter final drive mate well to the engine, although 1st-gear throttle tip-in can be abrupt and disturbing if you don’t baby it. The tranny’s ratios are superbly matched, shifts are sweet and it matches revs well on kickdowns. The S8’s power is best manipulated manually through the steering-wheel shift paddles — that’s the way to get Audi’s claimed 5 seconds to 60 mph. Even in Sport mode, however, the transmission has to be convinced to kick down for serious passing. That kind of second-guessing from your gearbox is not good for the relationship between you and your car.

For all the S8’s changes, however, when we punch the engine-start button and pull away from the InterContinental hotel in downtown Dsseldorf, the overall effect is fairly muted. At startup, and trolling through the city, the V-10 is barely discernible from Audi’s 4.2-liter V-8. The six-speed Tiptronic slips smoothly from one gear to the next, with none of the jerkiness of an auto-shifted manual. The steering is light and relaxed, despite being ten percent quicker off-center. The seats are more aggressively bolstered, but these easily could be the standard chairs.

Gliding onto the freeway that will take us out of the city, we get up to about 60 mph and, visuals aside, we could be driving a standard A8. Like any A8, of course, it’s very nice. The interior is splendid to look at and touch. The controls are not terribly intimidating. Even the knob-and-screen controller, Audi’s Multi Media Interface, is fairly logical, if still distracting. And the relatively lightweight aluminum structure means that, even when laden with all manner of luxury equipment, the S8 avoids the sense of asphalt-crushing deliberate movement that characterizes a BMW 7-series or, certainly, a Volkswagen Phaeton. It’s not constantly reminding you of its hugeness.

Standard Engine:5.2L V10, 40 valve, 450 hp @ 7000 rpm

• 6 speed automatic transmission
• 15 mpg city / 21 mpg hwy
• Green Rating: 51

Standard Features:

• Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags
• 4-Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Pre-Programmable Equalizer

The Audi S6 is the sport-refined version of the A6 sedan. It is packed with technological advancements and has many small design upgrades.

The S6 incorporates a 435 hp V10 engine, Quattro all-wheel-drive, and a level of technical sophistication that few cars achieve. It has daytime running LED driving lights, 19′ aluminum wheels, dual-zone climate control, navigation system, and Multi Media Interface high-end radio. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come in a manual transmission and owners are penalized with a $1,300 gas guzzler tax in the US.

The S6’s 5.2-liter engine is a detuned version of the V10 that sits amidships in the Lamborghini Gallardo, and it delivers 398 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, a bit more than the M5’s 5.0-liter V10’s 383 lb-ft at 6,100 rpm. AMG’s 6.2-liter DOHC V8 blows both of them in the weeds with a mighty 465 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Meanwhile, the Audi V10’s racy personality and 435 hp at 6,800 rpm can’t make up for the power gap to its rivals, as the BMW V10 puts out 500 hp at 7,750 rpm and the AMG V8 weighs in with 507 hp at 6,800 rpm.

A six-speed Tiptronic transmission harnesses the power of that V10. As you’d expect, the Tiptronic does a good job thinking for itself, judging your driving habits by correlating peak lateral and longitudinal accelerations with the amount of engine power being used and then tweaking the shift schedule accordingly. This automatic’s shift action is already tuned to be pretty aggressive anyway, but you can get even quicker gearchanges by sliding the central gear lever into the “Sport” mode. Finally, you can also use the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel to manually select each gear.

The previous-generation S6 had a V-8 engine developing 340 horsepower. The twin-turbo RS 6 started life with 450 horsepower and ended up with 480. In the interim, Audi complicated things by endowing the smaller S4 with the 340-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 and the RS 4 with a direct-injection V-8 that makes 420 horsepower. The 2005 Tokyo show saw the debut of the S8, with a Lamborghini-derived V-10 and 450 horsepower.

All of this made us wonder how the new S6 would be positioned. After all, it has to upstage the S4 but stay below the S8 in the corporate pecking order. At the Detroit show in January, we found out. The S6 has the S8’s 5.2-liter V-10, but with its maximum output reduced by 15 horsepower to 435. And, yes, there will be a new RS 6, which is more than a year away and promises to outgun the 500-hp BMW M5.

Audi will tell you this is all logical, that each model has a specific purpose and its own niche in the market. In the case of the S6, Audi maintains it is not just another contender in the German horsepower race. It’s intended as a fast touring car rather than an out-and-out road racer and is purposely understated so it looks hardly any different from the A6.

Standard Engine:

5.2L V10, 40 valve, 435 hp @ 6800 rpm

• 6 speed automatic transmission
• 15 mpg city / 21 mpg hwy
• Green Rating: 51

Standard Features:

• Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags
• 4-Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Pre-Programmed Equalizer

An “S” on the rear end of an Audi signifies a pumped-up version of a given model. The 2007 Audi S4, packing a 340-horsepower V8 within its relatively petite dimensions, shows that the gentlemen from Ingolstadt mean business in the compact sport sedan segment. Aimed at the BMW M3, and to a lesser degree, the considerably more costly Mercedes-Benz C55, the 2007 S4 is a serious enthusiast’s machine.
Somehow, Audi has managed to shoehorn its 4.2-liter V8 from the A6 and A8 into an engine bay best served by a 4-cylinder — and cramped even with a 6. And “shoehorned” is not the least bit exaggerated. Audi literally had to redesign the engine to shorten it some 2 inches; chains mounted in the rear now drive camshafts once run by a forward-facing rubber belt. Both the oil and water pumps have been relocated lower and to the side. Total output for this normally aspirated V8 is an impressive 340 horsepower and 302 pound-feet of torque, and Audi fills out the car’s abilities with a sport-tuned suspension, big wheels, sticky tires and more powerful brakes.

In addition, the S4 also offers a few things the competition doesn’t: all-wheel drive (AWD) and a variety of body styles to choose from. The benefits of the increased grip that Quattro provides on slippery roads won’t be lost on enthusiasts who live in rainy or snowy climates. In addition to the expected sedan body style, Audi offers convertible and wagon variants of the S4. Buyers also have a choice of transmissions, manual or automatic, whereas some rivals offer an automatic only.

Under the hood, technology such as dual overhead camshafts, variable valve timing, and five valves per cylinder help the 2006 Audi S4’s V-8 churn out 340 horsepower. With Audi’s stalwart Quattro system driving all four wheels, the S4 remains composed and predictable, and electronic stability controls keep the power from overwhelming the tires on loose surfaces.

The face of the redesigned S4 features the signature Audi chrome-ringed grille, but the car is otherwise discreetly more masculine than the 2006 Audi A4 and pleasantly purposeful to behold. Sporting the bulging wheel arches of the new A4 but with rocker-panel cladding and a small rear spoiler, the S4 is different enough to be discernable but not showy. Our car’s understated Light Silver Metallic paint ($475) fit the confident character of the styling; brighter colors will likely make the wide snout stand out more.

The most notable difference for the 2007 convertible model, which Audi calls the S4 Cabriolet, is the restyled front end with its larger trapezoidal grille. At the expense of some rear-seat space, the S4 Cabriolet features an insulated, power-operated fabric roof with a glass rear window that can be raised or lowered while driving at speeds up to 19 mph. An optional acoustic roof makes use of denser fabrics to further reduce road noise. Audi claims a Cabriolet fitted with the optional headliner is as quiet as the sedan, even at highway speeds. The convertible also features an occupant-protection system in which two protective bars located behind the rear seats pop up within milliseconds if sensors detect the vehicle is about to roll over.

All S4 models come with a 4.2-liter V8 engine that generates 340 hp and is capable of taking the S4 to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds with the standard six-speed manual transmission. A six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that affords manual gear selection is optional.

2007 Audi S4 Models:

2007 Audi S4 Sport Sedan 
2007 Audi S4 Avant 
2007 Audi S4 Sport Sedan with Tiptronic 
2007 Audi S4 Avant with Tiptronic 
2007 Audi S4 Cabriolet 
2007 Audi S4 Cabriolet with Tiptronic  

For a car designed and developed within a stone’s throw of the world’s fastest public roads, it’s a strange inconsistency. At the big track at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Southern California where Audi staged its stateside introduction, the RS 4 would reach maybe 130 mph down the pit straight. At that speed there was no sign of any tail wiggle. But when you got on the brakes hard for Turn Two, there it was again, the slo-mo shimmy.
 
These mild oscillations never get troublesome, but we’re curious about their origin. Perhaps it has something to do with the Quattro all-wheel drive, or the car’s 58.3/41.7-percent front-to-rear weight distribution. We can’t be certain. But here’s something we are sure about. Not many owners will ever see speeds that high. Heaven knows, it’s hard enough for us to find appropriate test venues. Most racetracks don’t have straights long enough to allow this kind of speed.

BMW M3, meet your match… and then some. The all-new Audi RS4 has arrived. This is the latest RS-badged machine, little brother to the almighty RS6 and the successor to the devastatingly quick RS4 Avant of 2001.

Built from the ground-up as the ultimate compact luxury sedan, the RS4 returns for yet another generation with the confidence inspiring grip of all-wheel drive, nothing new for Audi of course. But the new model also presents new technologies which make this rendition one of the most advanced sports sedans to date.

The biggest change that developer Quattro GmbH implemented with
Watch out world, the all-new Audi RS4 has arrived in Geneva. (Photo: Audi of America)
the new RS4 is the switch from turbo to natural aspiration; thats right, this is a first for Audis RS series. Instead, the RS4 will feature FSI direct-injection, the same power-optimizing technology that helped the brands R8 racer achieve four wins at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Aside from the W12-powered A8, the RS4 is the most powerful Audi currently in production: its 4,163 cc V8 powerplant produces a total output of 420-horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. Though the motor
The RS4 has been built from the ground up as the ultimate compact luxury sedan. (Photo: Audi of America)
is capable of revving to 8,250 rpm, low-end torque hasnt been sacrificed to do so with 90 percent of its maximum pulling power available between 2,250 and 7,600 rpm.

Routed to a short-throw six-speed manual gearbox and driven through Audis five-star quattro all-wheel drive system, the new FSI V8 is capable of catapulting the compact sedan to 60 mph in a hair-raising 4.7 seconds. The 125 mph mark is reached just a short while later, taking a mere 16+ seconds. While Audi voluntarily limited the RS4s top speed to 155 mph, in theory the car could
Engineers in charge of the RS4 were ordered to optimize its power-to-weight ratio to ensure it wouldnt be a slouch in the corners. (Photo: Audi of America)
reach speeds approaching 185 mph!

It’s easy to build a sports car: You make it lightweight and powerful with the engine, transmission, and occupants positioned towards the center of the car for better balance. Tune the suspension to serve up gluttonous portions of grip and balance and presto: You’re done!

Performance sedans are another matter entirely, however. The engineers have to take a car that was packaged for comfort, convenience, and practicality and turn it into something special - something that makes the driver giggle on the right road at the right time, but that handles the daily grind as well as its mundane siblings. Currently, the BMW M5 sets the benchmark, although it’s anything but perfect. The transmission, the looks and the universally loathed iDrive system all detract from the M5 experience, not to mention the fact it’ll cost you close to $90,000 to put one in your driveway.

Enter the Audi RS4, Ingolstadt ’s take on the uber-sedan concept, smaller and less complicated than the M5 with old-fashioned enhancements like mechanical differentials and a manual gearbox (that’s a stick that pokes up between the seats that has to be moved around some to make the car go faster).
Standard Engine:
4.2L V8, 32 valve, 420 hp @ 7800 rpm
6 speed manual transmission
14 mpg city / 21 mpg hwy
Green Rating: 50

Standard Features:
Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags
4-Wheel Anti-Lock Brakes
Rear In-Glass Diversity Radio Antenna

Luxury vehicles are sometimes a lesson in diminishing returns. Any car, be it an econobox or a Bugatti Veyron, can get you from A to B. Luxury cars are supposed to do it with an amount of flair, style, performance and sophistication that matches their price. The Audi Q7 has the panache factor, with a 4.2-liter V8 engine, lavish interior loaded with features, and styling with a definite punch, and it certainly has the luxury price: Our loaded test car came out to around $68,500. That’s where the diminishing returns come in. We recently drove an Acura MDX with a sticker price that was about $48,500, and during our time in the Q7 we couldn’t figure out why this Audi was supposed to be $20,000 better than the Acura.
Externally, the Q7 comes across as the King Kong edition of the A6 Avant, but inside it is pure luxury limo. The cabin design mixes A6 and A8 elements with Audi’s usual fine materials and faultless craftsmanship. The instrument panel and switchgear are upper-class Audi, and the MMI system is also a carryover. The key difference between this and other European SUVs is the business-class packaging in row two and the bigger-than-average cargo deck. By adjusting the asymmetrically split bench, it is easy to accommodate even the longest set of legs. The third row, however, is restricted to those who stand less than five feet, three inches tall. The wide, deep, and flat cargo area holds 144.1 cubic feet of luggage with the rear seats folded flat, 27.4 cubic feet in five-person configuration, and 10.9 cubic feet with all three rows erect.

Initially, the Q7 will be available only with the new 4.2-liter FSI V-8, which delivers345 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. The newish 276-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 from the Volkswagen Passat won’t be available until fall. We drove the V-8, which likely will be the bigger seller in America.

Even a casual glance at a Q7 will show that the vehicle has proportions very different from a traditional truck-based utility vehicle. Its high sides and long, low roofline embody Audi styling themes that go back to the first-generation TT sports car, while its interior combines the industry-standard design that characterizes Audi with the comfort, space, and versatility associated with an SUV.

All Q7 models have quattro all-wheel drive — that’s where the “Q” in the name comes from — and it fits in the company lineup between the mid-size A6 and premium-luxury A8 sedans, hence the “7″. Currently, all Q7s are fitted with Audi’s 4.2-liter V8, which, with direct fuel injection makes 350 horsepower, delivered through a six-speed automatic transmission. A 3.6-liter V6 will be offered later.

While the Q7 may be Audi’s first-ever sport-utility, its strength and refinement suggest that Audi has been in this game for years, if not decades. As such, the Q7 represents a fresh and beautifully rendered newcomer to the luxury SUV segment. Like other Audis, the Q7 is a paragon of driving elegance and interior refinement.

Built upon the same solid architecture shared by the Volkswagen’s impressive Touareg and Porsche’s high-performance Cayenne, the Q7 is even nicer to drive than its two corporate cousins, thanks to a more compliant ride and Audi’s decades of experience with all-wheel-drive systems, which Audi calls Quattro, or quattro. The Q7 is also the longest of the three, and thus is the only one to offer three-row seating. Audi also has equipped the Q7 with many luxury and convenience features not found on the Touareg and Cayenne, including a few not found on any other luxury SUV.

The Q7 full-size SUV looks a lot like a tall, bulked-up wagon; it’s about six inches longer and 10 inches taller than an Audi A6 wagon. Standard alloy wheels measure 18 inches in diameter, but 19-, 20- and even 21-inch wheels are optional.

Automakers have met with questionable success when applying the front end styling theme of a passenger car to an SUV (think Porsche Cayenne). Fortunately, the Q7 doesn’t fall into this category. Its front echoes the look of Audi’s cars, but it doesn’t come off as ungainly; the horizontal gray bar in the trapezoidal grille lessens the impact of the design a bit and should make it less polarizing.

Audi wishes to make one thing perfectly clear: The Q7 is an SUV. Not a CUV, not a mini-ute. Market research shows that the Q7’s target audience wants an SUV, so Audi built an SUV. Though svelte lines hide the Q7’s bulk, it’s actually just 2 inches shorter and 1 inch narrower than a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, though at 5 feet 8.4 inches high the Audi will make it into parking garages that the 6′2″ Escalade won’t.
One of my complaints about Audis is that most of them look alike. That’s not a problem with the Q7. Size and shape aren’t the only things that differentiate the Q7 from Audi’s cars. There are changes in the details — the sculpting of the front and rear ends, the artful integration of body seams and creases into the Q7’s design — that give it a unique character. It’s a trend I hope Audi will continue as their cars come up for redesign.

With the launch of the 2007 Audi Q7, Audi proves that it’s either a maverick or completely clueless when it comes to current automotive trends. A big gas-guzzling 4×4 SUV in 1996, yes, but in 2006? Crossovers are the current hot trend. Of course, this is not to say that Audi can’t build a big 4×4 SUV. From our experience with the Q7, Audi can build a very fine SUV, which is not at all surprising given Audi’s legendary quattro all-wheel-drive system. And those Audi fans who have been waiting years for an SUV, no matter how few they may be, finally get what they want.

In our test period with the 2007 Audi Q7, we went through alternating fits of love and frustration with the car. We could complain about the acceleration hesitation from the big 4.2-liter V-8, then wax poetic about the luxurious interior. Immediately after cursing the navigation system, we would praise the car’s highway manners. The Q7 is a seriously mixed bag, with many good points offset by many minor and major faults.

2007 Audi Q7 Models:
2007 Audi Q7 3.6 quattro 
2007 Audi Q7 3.6 quattro Premium 
2007 Audi Q7 4.2 quattro 
2007 Audi Q7 4.2 quattro Premium