Here we have yet another fast Audi, but what is it that makes this rapid limousine so special?
That question is best answered with a quick test. Sit yourself in the new Audi S8 Plus’s driving seat, start the 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 and select Drive.
Next shout 'READY, STEADY, GO', plant your foot to the floor and begin counting the seconds: 'one, two, three, three-and-a-bit', and boom - that’s 62mph, right there.
To be scientific about it, the exact time is 3.8sec, which ladies and gents, makes it the fastest-accelerating limo you can buy.
We once described the standard S8’s potency in the realms of ‘lunacy’, for it’s no sloth - not with 513bhp, which is available for those who feel the Plus's 597bhp is a tad too wild for them. But somehow that wasn’t enough for the chaps at Ingolstadt (or Audi's Neckarsulm plant, where the S8 is built), and I think you have to admire delusion on such an epic scale.
Don’t think they’ve thrown in another piffling 10bhp as a marketing ploy to lever a few extra sovereigns out of perennially late plutocrats; the Plus adds a hefty 84bhp, with peak torque boosted to 516lb ft, or 553lb ft if you count the overboost function.
It’s a feat achieved by re-mapping the engine to increase boost pressure and stretching the rev limiter by 200rpm. To cope with the extra stress there’s been some beefing-up of the internals, including stronger head gaskets and modified exhaust valves.
