Audi S8 2020 UK first drive

The Audi S8 sits at the intersection between the firm’s luxury and performance cars, attempting to combine the mile-crushing comfort and refinement you expect of a limo with the power and driver engagement you demand from a supercar.

That’s a tough brief, especially when faced with accomplished rivals such as the Mercedes-AMG S63 and BMW M750Li. And while previous generations of the S8 have been well-regarded all-rounders, they haven’t quite nailed that oh-so-demanding limo-meets-supercar brief.

This new S8 sits atop the line-up of the latest Audi A8 executive saloon. In order to upgrade the already technology-packed model, Audi has crammed in even more tech and its turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine. With 563bhp, the new unit has 34bhp more than the top-spec version of the previous S8 and a healthy 590lb ft of torque.

Power is sent through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which offers Audi’s manual Tiptronic controls, to all four wheels - although a clever sport differential adjusts the power sent to each wheel as required. There’s also high-tech adaptive air suspension that's designed to bolster both the S8’s ride and handling.

We’ve previously tested - and been impressed by - the new S8 in Germany, but this is our first chance to find whether can still achieve an admirable mix of refinement and performance on the UK’s rougher, bumpier and narrower roads.

Even in an age of ultra-rapid yet silent electric performance cars, there’s something surreal about how quiet the S8 is at low speed. Riding on advanced active air suspension, with a camera scanning the road ahead and automatically adjusting the ride height to smooth over bumps, the car glides along with such tranquility that you can scarcely believe there's a 4.0-litre V8 just in front of you.

It’s helped by the mild-hybrid unit, a belt-driven 48V starter-motor that can harvest up to 8kW of energy during braking and coasting. Combined with a cylinder-on-demand system that can shut down one bank of cylinders under light loads, it makes the S8 incredibly refined and quiet at low speed.

But call upon the full 563bhp and the engine comes alive with a pleasing – if synthetically aided – roar and a slug of power that a heavyweight boxer would be proud of. It feels as capable as its official 0-62mph time of 3.8sec suggests, especially for a large executive car that weighs 2230kg.