Audi moved steadily larger on the status pyramid in the course of the Eighties, with the mighty Audi V8 inching ever nearer to its BMW 7 Collection and Mercedes-Benz S-Class rivals within the efficiency, snob-appeal and price ticket departments. When it got here time to design the V8’s successor, the A8, Audi went with a radical all-aluminum unibody construction and added an enormous serving to of horsepower and digital gadgetry. The A8 first went on sale in the USA as a 1997 mannequin; the second-generation model made its debut as a 2003 mannequin. Here is a type of second-generation A8s, present in a Denver self-service automotive graveyard.
Audi’s first manufacturing car to make use of the ASF (Audi Area Body) was the 1994 A8, and the corporate nonetheless (justifiably) points common ASF brags after greater than 500,000 ASF-based automobiles produced.
That is probably the most inexpensive A8 mannequin for ’07, a short-wheelbase automotive with V8 engine. Even so, its MSRP was a formidable $68,900, or about $104,517 in 2023 {dollars}.
That is the 4.2-liter V8 engine with direct injection, rated at 350 horsepower and 325 pound-feet. The A8’s VW-badged sibling, the Phaeton, additionally received the 4.2. This one sits so low within the engine compartment as a result of some junkyard shopper has bought the transmission. Let’s hope it was an excellent one!
The one transmission out there right here was a six-speed automated with Tiptronic gear choice, and all 2007 A8s bought in North America have been geared up with Quattro all-wheel-drive.
This automotive is supplied with the joystick-based 2G model of Audi’s Multi Media Interface system, which was science-fiction stuff for the center 2000s.
The inside appears good and the physique does not present any severe harm. Why did such a masterpiece of design and know-how meet this destiny?
The factor about proudly owning an instance of recent European luxurious equipment is that you simply can not skimp on upkeep and repairs when you plan to maintain yours on the highway for lengthy. The A8 has at all times been large, subtle and stuffed with modern {hardware}; deferred upkeep and/or uncared for fixes will chunk you with a quickness you will not see with, say, a Chevy Impala of the identical period. Sure, you should purchase a 15-year-old A8 for a value that is ballpark-similar to that of a 15-year-old Impala, however mathematicians invented logarithmic scales partly that can assist you perceive the distinction in value between a typical A8 restore and a typical Impala restore.
We are able to assume this automotive’s third or fourth proprietor was overjoyed by the low value of admission to the world of high-end European luxurious. Quickly sufficient, one costly downside after one other cropped up. Maybe a Recent Shave Automobile-Freshner Little Tree would assist!
No? How a few Jasmin Little Tree?
When you ever reduce your self in a junkyard and wish a first-aid equipment, a lot of European and Japanese luxurious sedans have them.
There have to be a strategy to swap these seats into an Impala Restricted.
The second-generation A8 will flip the world upside-down.
