New Audi S8 goes big on brawn

AUDI’s new S8 plus will be the most powerful saloon car ever produced by the German manufacturer when it hits showrooms in October.

An uprated version of the standard S8's twin-turbocharged four-litre V8 engine delivering 557bhp and 593lb.ft. of torque equips the luxury vehicle with the grunt of seven one-litre A1 htachbacks.

The resulting 289bhp-per-tonne output means that it will accelerate to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds, with an electronically limited 155mph top speed which can be derestricted to 189mph.

A sports exhaust, power door closure, unique 21-inch alloy wheels and carbon fibre front spoiler lip and side flaps form part of standard UK specification on the S8, which will cost £97,700 when the order books open in October.

But it will be the the S8 plus' supercar-baiting performance that writes the headlines.

UK deliveries are expected to commence in January 2016.