ROCKIN' IT HARD UNDER THE RADAR; Luxury and performance are standard in Audi's S8.(Auto File)

Combine a 450-hp Lamborghini V10 with a near-perfect autobahn cruiser, and the result is the Audi S8, a true German luxury sedan spiced up with a whopping chunk of Italian muscle. AutoWeek readers voted the Audi A8 L the best luxury car in our most recent Readers' Choice Awards (AW, Nov. 6, 2006), and this high-performance version would get several "best'' votes from our staff.

Okay, the car isn't perfect. The throttle response in our almost-$111,000 test car was as jumpy as some of the Detroit iron we remember from back in the 1970s, with absolutely no linear feel at all. In a car of this class, we'd expect brakes that felt less squishy, though the 106 feet it took to stop from 60 mph is sports-car excellent; the brakes showed no sign of distress after repeated heavy use. That said, we'd still like better feel. Another minor nit is the automatic transmission. Despite column-mounted paddle shifters, the six-speed automatic will not stay in the gear you select if the computer thinks you need to upshift. Even in manual mode, there is no way to beat the 7000-rpm shift point.

Granted, these are relatively minor complaints, and, all things considered, the S8 is one great car, as anything on four wheels costing north of $100,000 should be. Just looking at the performance numbers is a confirmation of its pedigree: 0 to 60 mph in 5.29 seconds, 0 to 100 mph in 12.64 seconds, and the quarter-mile ...