Audi A8L W12 (2001-2003)

Awesome 6.0 litre W12 tops teutonic power struggle

This car is just too powerful for its own good. But before all you power-obsessed junkies come down on me like a ton of bricks, permit me to explain.

Audi’s new A8 L 6.0 is a very fine car, it’s up there with the BMW 750i and Mercedes-Benz S600. It even manages to surpass them in the engine department.

Thing is, the A8 has been around since 1994. Seven years might not seem that long, but the decision to shoehorn a radical new W12 engine into the LWB version magnifies its shortcomings.

Developed jointly by VW and Audi, the W12 was created by coupling two narrow-angle V6 engines together on a common crankshaft at an angle of 72 degrees.

Thus they not only succeeded in creating an engine that is wildly different from the traditional 60-degree V12s used by their competitors, but one that is exceptionally compact.

Its 6.0 litres produce a potent 309 kW at 6000 rpm and Audi hails its A8 L 6.0 as the world’s most powerful sedan. Still, it is the engine’s whopping 550 Nm of torque at 3500 rpm that really makes the difference. By comparison, the top-of-the-line S600 Benz musters 270 kW and 530 Nm from its 5.8-litre V12.

Audi’s new flagship is all-wheel drive, with a five-speed slusher and all the latest in electronic stability trickery.

The new engine is eerily silent, and there’s virtually no vibration, but the serenity is shattered the moment you plant the throttle. Audi claims, the A8 L reaches 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds, bags 200 km/h inside 20 seconds and is capable of hitting its 250 km/h max in 38 seconds.

Any doubts about the engine’s ability are immediately blown away by its instantaneous response, silken power delivery and eagerness to spin to the 6000 rpm redline.

The combination of chunky 245/45 rubber and quattro four-wheel drive system make it awesomely fast on challenging back roads.

Just don’t expect class leading bump absorption, body control or suspension refinement when the surface turns nasty.

To help justify its anticipated $220,000 price tag, Audi has thrown everything into the new car. Forget the gadgetry, however, it’s the engine that makes this car special. And it will be all the more so when fitted to next year’s all-new A8.