# Driven: 2011 Audi A8L W12 quattro



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

It’s a bit formulaic really. Take Jason Statham, a waify blonde in harajuku garb, a bomb ingested or strapped somewhere it can’t be removed and, of course, an indestructible Audi A8L W12. Pack it all together and you have an action movie. One would think the formula for the aforementioned executive class A8L might follow closely from one to another. However, things are not as simple as they appear and we found that out recently after sampling the all-new D4 generation Audi A8L W12 in Germany near the Austrian border.

* Full Story *


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

Great write-up, George, thanks. I really want to see this car in person, because the press shots have me decidedly underwhelmed. Much like the latest 7 and 5 series from BMW, I really cannot shake the impression that the new A8 just looks like a stretched A4, and it seems to lack some of the distinctiveness of the D3 A8.

My take on this is that Audi is trying to provide plenty of room for the A7 to provide the more "sexy" package, versus the A8's more "utilitarian" stance, but exterior styling aside, the new A8 seems like a significant improvement in every regard.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

Travis Grundke said:


> Great write-up, George, thanks. I really want to see this car in person, because the press shots have me decidedly underwhelmed. Much like the latest 7 and 5 series from BMW, I really cannot shake the impression that the new A8 just looks like a stretched A4, and it seems to lack some of the distinctiveness of the D3 A8.
> 
> My take on this is that Audi is trying to provide plenty of room for the A7 to provide the more "sexy" package, versus the A8's more "utilitarian" stance, but exterior styling aside, the new A8 seems like a significant improvement in every regard.


It was a shame it rained a bit while we were there. Our tester was black, a very complimentary color on the A8 and much better IMHO than the gold pictured. I'd planned to shoot our own shots as I agree that the Audi PR shots tend to be from non-complimentary angles but the car got pretty dirty almost immediately and we decided to focus on the driving experience and not bother shooting it dirty.

I think once you see it in person the 'big A4' impression will go away so we're looking forward to most of the car's critics in that fashion to see it first hand.


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## rexxmann (Sep 4, 2002)

Definitely looks like a car centered around the backseat experience. I wonder what the breakdown of owners who drive the car themselves vs. those who are chauffeur-driven.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

I think this is more common in Europe but I would be more curious to know the install rate for Americans who may not be driven but definitely want the toys.


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## Sodi Pop (Sep 22, 2007)

i had the opportunity to drive one 2 weeks ago for work. I must say that for its size it hadles very well and is a lot of fun to drive.


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