AFTER a mid-life facelift, the Audi A8 now looks a bit like Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. Whether you think that’s a bad thing, it only reinforces the point that this car was created to be the bane of two legends, the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class.

In the face of the S-Class’ polished minimalism and the 7 Series’ flamboyant ostentation, the A8 looks positively outdated, but you could take the kind view and think of it as classically luxe.

It may not have the Mercedes’ neumorphic aesthetic or the BMW’s self-opening doors, but the Audi really is a flagship limo at its best: roomy like hell, plush like anything and lacking for nothing in terms of equipment.

I mean, the rear seats have a massage function and built-in ventilation. If having your buttocks simultaneously cooled and gently kneaded isn’t the height of modern living, I don’t know what is.

The cabin’s ambience is along cigar-lounge-meets-military-control-room lines, and because the Audi is sold in the longer A8 L form in Singapore, the back offers room to stretch, or at least slouch.

Yet, in the finest tradition of big German sedans, the Audi makes it confoundingly tempting to take the driver’s seat. Spec it with the smooth and gently burbling 4.0-litre V8 engine, and the A8 L accelerates with thundering authority.

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For such a big car, it is also marvellously gung-ho about zipping through corners. Whatever you throw at it, it always seems ready for more.

A better party trick is how quiet it is when moving sedately, and how pillowy the ride is over the road. Both attributes remind you that, mechanically speaking, the A8 is a close cousin of the Bentley Flying Spur. 

That’s just as well, because it doesn’t come cheap. The 3.0-litre V6 version starts at S$536,677 while the 4.0 V8 costs S$704,675. The latter is a salty sum that means the V8 is for the most dedicated Audi fan, or someone put off by its rivals’ new-fangledness.

If money permits (and at this level, it will), consider the S8 variant. It costs S$34,871 more, and though it’s less spacious in the back, the shorter wheelbase makes it more agile. It’s subversively sporty, and much more powerful, so the acceleration is the stuff of sweaty palms. Imagine Bane on steroids.

Audi A8 L 4.0 TFSI

Engine 3,996 cc, V8, twin-turbocharged

Power 460 hp at 5,500 rpm

Torque 660 Nm at 1,850 - 4,500 rpm

Gearbox 8-speed automatic

0-100km/h 4.5 seconds

Top Speed 250 km/h

Fuel Efficiency 12.4 L/100 km

Agent Premium Automobiles

Price S$704,675 with COE

Available Now