It's easy to forget just how good it is...

[27litres]

Jealousy is an interesting emotion.
One mate of mine has recently bought an RS3, one has bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, another has bought a Mustang GT, and yet another has spent some serious coin getting his Small Block LS1 in his Statesman supercharged. The Jeep mate has also put a built Holden 355 stroker into his classic HQ Statesman which promises to produce 500hp.

I've been thinking of what I can do to get more power or better acceleration from the S8. I've run all the options through my head: supercharging or engine swap, remaps, Haltech ECU with custom tune, manual conversion, I've even considered trading up to a C5 or C6 RS6 to trump them all

Then today I'm driving home from work, from a different depot than I normally drive home from, and I decide to take the scenic route by climbing the mountain.
Slip the auto into tiptronic as I start going up the twisting mountain road. I planted it on the winding roads, dropping into second for the hairpins and sharp corners, feeding the power back out and quickly grabbing third as the revs rapidly climb. I find myself grabbing fourth at one point on a longer stretch, so I steal a glance at the speedo, realising that I'm well over the ton (kmh, not mph!) as I dive on the brakes for the next hairpin and take it at a speed better than 50!
With mid to high revs keeping high torque at the wheels, the car plants itself in the bends and pulls through. Quattro at its best and as good as the A4 ever achieved!
I catch up to a Toyota tray body and I'm drawn back into the reality that we're not really supposed to drive that way on public roads

Climbing a twisty mountain road, the S8 effortlessly gets to excessive speeds and puts a smile on your face every time.
Anybody who thinks these cars don't handle isn't driving it right!
It pulls so hard it's actually difficult to keep it in legal territory when stretching it's legs, and makes me realise that power isn't everything (provided you have plenty anyway!).
I'd beat the Jeep up the mountain any day, out handle the Statesman and Mustang and give the RS3 a fair run for its money on this road (it'd thrash me of course, but my ride is far more comfortable!)

Yes, I'm still happy with my S8. It's such an accomplished car in many ways, what else would I want to drive!