Next-Gen Audi S8 To Be Available This Year
Reports are suggesting that the next-generation Audi S8 will become available later this year. Based on the information currently available, it looks like the new S8 will be using a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, the same one found under the hood of the Porsche Panamera Turbo.
The newest Audi S8, however, will not get to enjoy the same power that V8 is bringing to the Panamera Turbo. Instead, it will make 535 horses, seven fewer horsepower that the same engine makes in the Porsche. On the upside, it does have 22 horsepower more than the last standard S8.
This information from Autoblog revealed and might have confirmed one thing: Audi is effectively ditching the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that it designed together with Bentley and used in the current D4 S8. The present S8 can produce 597 horses, making the possible 535 horsepower such a plummeting dive for Audi. Why then would it decide to go this route?
Just to remind you, this new-generation S8 is a standard S8. The current one in the market is the S8 Plus. This sounds awfully like mobile phones right now, huh? The S8 Plus was introduced in 2016 as a replacement for the then-current engine—a 513-horsepower-churning machine. It looks like this next-generation S8, which will probably come off as a 2020 model, is going to be measured against that first car.
A separate report, however, indicated that there will be another version of the S8 Plus. The Panamera was created to exist alongside Audi’s A8, as well as the S series. The models agreed to share parts. And since the Panamera has a hybrid powertrain in the form of the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, experts believe that this would also be present in the upcoming Audi S8.
Instead of wearing the S8 Plus badge again, it will be more than likely that the new vehicle will carry the name of S8 E-Tron. Presumably, it will be able to produce 621 horses, down 49 horsepower from the Panamera counterpart.
Now, the question would be if Audi would sell both versions or simply replace the standard version with the E-Tron? Let’s wait and see.