Audi moved steadily higher on the prestige pyramid throughout the Nineteen Eighties, with the mighty Audi V8 inching ever closer to its BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class rivals within the performance, snob-appeal and price tag departments. When it got here time to design the V8’s successor, the A8, Audi went with a radical all-aluminum unibody structure and added a giant helping of horsepower and electronic gadgetry. The A8 first went on sale in america as a 1997 model; the second-generation version made its debut as a 2003 model. Here’s certainly one of those second-generation A8s, present in a Denver self-service automotive graveyard.
Audi’s first production vehicle to make use of the ASF (Audi Space Frame) was the 1994 A8, and the corporate still (justifiably) issues regular ASF brags after greater than 500,000 ASF-based vehicles produced.
That is essentially the most inexpensive A8 model 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, also got the 4.2. This one sits so low within the engine compartment because some junkyard shopper has purchased the transmission. Let’s hope it was a superb one!
The one transmission available here was a six-speed automatic with Tiptronic gear selection, and all 2007 A8s sold in North America were equipped with Quattro all-wheel-drive.
This automotive is supplied with the joystick-based 2G version of Audi’s Multi Media Interface system, which was science-fiction stuff for the center 2000s.
The inside looks good and the body doesn’t show any serious damage. Why did such a masterpiece of design and technology meet this fate?
The thing about owning an example of contemporary European luxury machinery is that you just cannot skimp on maintenance and repairs in the event you plan to maintain yours on the road for long. The A8 has all the time been big, sophisticated and filled with leading-edge hardware; deferred maintenance and/or neglected fixes will bite you with a quickness you will not see with, say, a Chevy Impala of the identical era. Yes, you possibly can buy a 15-year-old A8 for a price that is ballpark-similar to that of a 15-year-old Impala, but mathematicians invented logarithmic scales partly to provide help to understand the difference in cost between a typical A8 repair and a typical Impala repair.
We will assume this automotive’s third or fourth owner was overjoyed by the low price of admission to the world of high-end European luxury. Soon enough, one expensive problem after one other cropped up. Perhaps a Fresh Shave Automobile-Freshner Little Tree would help!
No? How a few Jasmin Little Tree?
If you happen to ever cut yourself in a junkyard and want a first-aid kit, a number of European and Japanese luxury sedans have them.
There have to be a method to swap these seats into an Impala Limited.
The second-generation A8 will turn the world upside-down.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
