I was behind the wheel of the Audi A8 3.0 TDI, heading to Munich from Ingolstadt, and having a serious conversation with a fellow passenger. We were talking as if we were sitting in a plush hotel lobby, but a hotel lobby that was moving at over 220 kph. That’s the magic of the A8, a car that’s so at ease at high speeds that it puts you at ease.
The snout of a white BMW 7 Series appeared quite close in the mirror, so I moved away from the high-speed lane to let him pass. He did get away, but in no time I was behind him and gaining in speed. He allowed me to pass and I left him far behind, never to see him again. Symbolic of the battle between the top-end Audis and BMWs perhaps.
Ingolstadt, Audi’s HQ, is barely 80 km from Munich, which BMW calls home. Even closer is the fight between the A8, Audi’s flagship, with that of BMW’s, the 7 Series. That’s because both these machines are battling it out in the ‘luxury sports saloon’ segment, and the A8 has got the upper hand – in the critical eight-cylinder category, the A8 outsells BMW in Germany. And I can safely assume that the 7 Series’ radical looks and confusing iDrive also had a role to play in this. But then, let me tell you this: the 12-cylinder A8 has dethroned even the formidable Mercedes-Benz S-Class V12 in Germany. So there.
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