Audi V8 – with this model Audi joined the top class

The V8 can be seen that it is based on the 100/200 C4, but the incredible muscularity oozes from this late example. This car is from 1993 and has the 4.2-liter V8 in the nose. With its imposing appearance, it is more distinctive than the contemporary Mercedes-Benz 500E, which relied on its thicker wheel arches at the front. The 500E was not even in the picture when the V8 arrived. It was not the intention at all that the V8 was compared with the Mercedes 200/300 series, also known as the W124. No, Ferdinand Piëch, the big man behind the project without whom the V8 would not have even come about, had the Mercedes S-class and the BMW 7-series in his sights. Although they were larger, Volkswagen stipulated that Audi was not allowed to develop a separate bodywork, despite the ambitious mission to compete with the best cars on earth. Wolfsburg would have preferred that Ingolstadt pick an engine from Porsche’s shelves, the V8 of the 928. More about that later.

The Audi V8, developed entirely in-house, group leader Volkswagen actually wanted the Porsche V8 of the 928.

Audi 200+ or ​​300, later it became Audi V8

With its special technology and high-quality furnishings, the V8 – which Audi referred to internally as 200+ or ​​300 for a long time, including the press – had to be an alternative to the established limousines. It simply became Audi V8, as the first Audi with four-wheel drive was named after the 4×4 system in 1980: Quattro. Adjustments to the appearance were intended to give the topper more of an appearance. Under the leadership of design chief Hartmut Wartkuss, a sedan was created with a different nose, a revised buttocks and various other body panels. Note, for example, the wheel arches with their considerably flared edges.

It was not possible to have a completely new top Audi competing with the S-class and 7-series with the current five-cylinder turbo engine. Not that there was anything wrong with that engine, because that power source pushed the 100 and especially the 200 to great heights. In its twilight years, the 200 was even available as a 20V quattro (with the drivetrain of the first Audi Quattro with a 20-valve engine), but that car could at most compete with the toppers of the BMW 5-series (535i) and the aforementioned Mercedes W124. Think mainly of the 300E-24 and not yet of the 500E.

I immediately think of the aforementioned Audi 200 20V quattro when I drive the first meters with the V8. I drove it six years ago, also a copy from Audi specialist Hessel Terpstra, who has owned this copy for more than ten years. The 200 is no longer available, but I would love to get in again to be able to directly compare the 220 hp top 200 with this 4.2 V8 with manual gearbox. That 200 20V quattro was primarily a sporty top sedan, but I still think this 280 hp eight-cylinder comes surprisingly close to it in terms of experience. Did Audi invest all those millions of German marks there to allow cars to compete internally with each other? No definitely not. The V8 was really a class higher in terms of decoration, finish, standard equipment and driving characteristics. It was quieter and more comfortable and much more expensive, which was reflected in a price difference of more than €30,000 (almost 70,000 guilders). It is mainly the manual gearbox that briefly made me compare it with the 200 20V. This copy is the fastest and most dynamic version of the V8 you could get. With the rare manual gearbox it was much faster than with the automatic transmission and that is why I find it more fun to drive than I had expected.

Manual transmission came because automatic was considered too slow

Initially, the V8 was launched as a luxury limousine with an automatic transmission. However, Audi quickly realized that a manual gearbox was needed. When the V8 went on sale at the end of 1988 and found more and more owners in 1989, there was widespread criticism that the initially presented 3.6 V8 with 250 hp in combination with the automatic transmission was not fast enough. We take a look at the specs and we understand the grumbling. From 0 to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds and the top speed was 235 km/h. That was indeed not impressive for the top segment. In 1990, Audi promptly presented a five-speed manual gearbox for the 3.6 and later even a six-speed gearbox, which we also use in this 4.2. The 4.2-liter appeared at the end of 1991 and met the demand for more power with 280 hp. The development of Audi’s first eight-cylinder since the pre-war Horch 930 S (one of the brands from which Audi originated) took no less than six years. At the beginning of 1983, Audi was still considering a six-cylinder engine by adding an extra cylinder to the inline five, but the decision was soon made to develop a new eight-cylinder.

32V, twice 16V, because the cylinder heads on the two cylinder rows come from the 1.8 of the Golf GTI 16V.

In Wolfsburg they were more than happy to see the daughter from Ingolstadt working on the big V8 of the Porsche 928, which even led to two prototypes with that engine. Or rather: the then brand new 100 got that big engine. Audi guru Ferdinand Piëch didn’t like that at all and the prototypes proved him right. A more compact V8 had to be created, with the distance between the cylinders being smaller than with the enormous Porsche block. The Porsche engine would only make the obesity on the nose worse. What happened next? The cylinder head of the 1.8 16V that Volkswagen developed for the Golf GTI 16V and the Scirocco could, with some adjustments for cooling, effortlessly find its way to the 3.6 V8, which became a lively multi-valve engine. This is how the myth arose that the Audi V8 consisted of two 16V engines baked together, but the relationship is mainly in the cylinder heads.

Audi V8, the steering wheel is not straight.

Different level than 100 and 200

A year ago I drove the Audi 100 C3 for its fortieth birthday. Years before I took a seat in the biggest 200 and therefore I certainly see the relationship between those models and the V8. However, now I experience what thick layers of leather on the dashboard, beautiful strips of wood and luxurious comfort seats can do to the human spirit. This is definitely on another level. All spots for switches in this beautiful dashboard have been filled and the air conditioning control panel that the V8 received with its facelift is completely in style with the rest of the interior. Mind you: in the 200 I was still looking at a rather detonating air conditioning panel from Delco, a supplier of GM. One of the many switches and buttons even automatically raises a sunshade for the rear window. You actually only saw that in Mercedes S-class limousines in the late 80s and early 90s.

The 200 still had a GM air conditioning panel, but Audi couldn’t get away with that with the V8.

Smooth and civilized

The V8 is unprecedentedly smooth at the bottom, even for an engine that is more than thirty years old, and feels like the pinnacle of civilization. The very expensive power source, which was created after years of development, would also form the basis for the many V8s that brought Audi into the highest echelon of the automotive world in the years that followed. The Audi V8 could easily have been even faster, because there were plans for a version with two turbos that would appear with an interim update of the V8. However, we only saw such an engine with the first Audi RS6, 21 years ago. The Audi V8 mainly paved the way for the first A8, which was also known internally as the A8 D2. And what about the D1? That was the code for this top Audi, which was top class worthy with larger headlights, an overhanging grille (which would also characterize other models from 1990 onwards), large bumpers, many chrome details and an impressive rear light. The bodywork needed reinforcement to support the immense engine! It all fits in with the spirit of the 1980s. It was the period when BMW presented a V12 for the 7-series, which tempted Mercedes-Benz to supply a V12 in the next S-class. Mercedes-Benz added a V8 to the E-class (which was not yet called that by the way) and Lancia even installed a Ferrari V8 in the Thema. What a bizarre time in the development of the car that was. The Audi V8 will go down in history as the first top-class car with standard integral drive. ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’: Ingolstadt lived up to the slogan.