S8

STORY

Audi's largest S car began in 1996, when the D2 S8 combined the aluminium space frame A8 with a retuned 250 kW (340 PS) 4.2-litre V8 and, in continental Europe, a six-speed manual gearbox; the 1999 update went to five valves per cylinder and 265 kW (360 PS). The D3 was shown at the Tokyo show in October 2005 and reached British buyers in June 2006 with a 5.2-litre V10 FSI of 331 kW (450 PS), an Audi design rather than the Gallardo engine. The D4, shown at Frankfurt in September 2011, went back to eight cylinders with a 4.0 TFSI of 382 kW (520 PS), and the S8 plus announced on 5 August 2015 reached 445 kW (605 PS) and 700 Nm, 750 on overboost. The D5 arrived in 2019 and was facelifted in 2021; it pairs 420 kW (571 PS) with mild hybrid assistance and predictive active suspension, standard from launch, and German order books closed on 18 February 2026.