I’m considering ordering a 2012 Audi A8 and have been doing a lot of research on the car. I recently read a Car and Driver road test on the D4 that claims the 0-60 time is 5.1 seconds, that is a lot faster then the 5.7 seconds that Audi claims.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...ttro-road_test

At first I thought it must just be a typo error in the article, but then I checked their “Complete Specs and Performance Data” here:

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezfl...7a49ec0a38.pdf

The section showing the times in 10 MPH increments seems to support the 5.1 seconds.

The car they tested did have the Sport Package which includes the sport rear diff, but I didn’t think the Sport Package increased the cars power in any way.

I know some times road tests vary a tenth of a second or two from the manufactures numbers, but I’ve never seen a case where a car was over half a second faster to 60.

Any thoughts?

 

Can't explain that discrepancy...sounds like too big a difference to just be a "good" individual test car pick. Though if I didn't know Audi's quoted time, 5.1 sec would not have surprised me...considering the torque/hp, 8 speed trans and incredible traction.

In the old days, C&D always posted way faster 0-60 times than Road & track and other mags on the same cars. When I wrote them about it, pertaining to a car I owned, they explained it away with the fact that they "speed shifted", while others tested with "foot off the gas" shifting..BUT those were, of course, manual transmissions. If they've found a trick on auto transmissions, I'd like to know how they do it

 

Maybe they brake boost on the launch.

l8r)