2001 Audi A8L

Audi Has Always Stretched The Market With Design
And Now Does So With Luxury

By Bob Storck

Price Range: $57,400 (3.7) - $65,000 (4.2) to $75,000 Pricing And Options

Engine: 3.7 liter, 230 hp V8 or 4.2 liter, 310 hp V8
Front Engine/Front or All Wheel Drive

MPG (city/hwy): 19/22

Airbags: DP + side
ABS - std.

Features - Even with almost every luxury and safety item known to man aluminum construction keeps A8 lean and supple - All wheel drive insures safety and provides performance

(Vail, CO) Over the century Audi has become known for world conquering performance, safe and stable all wheel drive systems, industry leading aerodynamic styling, superior engineering, and unintended acceleration. Only the latter was not deserved, but for media trained Americans, that bogus charge completely overcame all the good qualities. It has been a hard fight to come back, but with such a lineup, Audi deserves a second chance.

Now the addition of the A8 gives Audi a broad lineup. Not since 1994 has the German auto maker offered a V-8 engine, in the under appreciated V8 Quattro.

For starters, the A8 comes not with two, but four airbags for the front and two side-mounted for rear passengers. Audi promotes "elegance without arrogance, excellence without excess, class without mass." High-toned words, but the car does manage to exhibit those qualities.

Two versions are available. The least costly sedan carries a 3.7-liter V-8 that develops 230 horsepower. Instead of all-wheel drive, that one has FrontTrack (front-drive). As its name suggests, the $64,500 4.2 Quattro has all-wheel drive and a bigger (4.2-liter) V-8 that whips up 310 horses.

Last year Audi raised the ante with the longer A8L that includes Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and a GPS navigation system. Also available are 18" performance tires, and forged and polished alloy wheels. Rear legroom is expanded three inches and rear doors are also lengthened. The rear seat has been repositioned to increase head and shoulder room. Overall A8L length expanded 5 inches, creating 4 cubic feet more interior volume for the rear occupants.

A8s use an aluminum space frame. Most people view aluminum as fragile, but this one is claimed to be stronger, lighter, and safer than steel. The overall weight is about 1,000 pounds lighter than a comparative sedan made of steel. Tempering at 450 degrees gives the aluminum outer panels greater "ding resistance" than steel. A new casting process gives cast components more uniform density, for added strength. Extrusions, castings, and sheet aluminum are welded together, and the result is indeed durable.