2025 Audi S8

MSRP: $125,300

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Overview

The 2025 Audi S8 full-size luxury sports sedan is powered by a 48-volt mild-hybrid-assisted and twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine putting out 563 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. This powerplant is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive with a sport rear differential. Adaptive air suspension and rear-wheel steering are standard, and give the big sedan the agility of a smaller car, despite its 5,000-pound weight. Direct rivals include the Porsche Panamera, BMW 760i, and Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance.

What’s New for 2025

The 2025 S8 gets more standard features, including the Extended Leather package, Platinum Gray 21-inch alloy wheels, and traffic-sign recognition, while physical HomeLink buttons have been added to the rearview mirror (this feature was previously controlled via the touchscreen).

More features are added to the optional packages. The Luxury package gains Digital Matrix LED headlights, ventilated and massaging outboard rear seats, rear Matrix LED reading lights, and a rear remote control. The Executive package gains heated power rear seats and a head-up display. The Black Optic Plus package gets new black 7-arm 21-inch wheels.

The 2025 Audi S8’s price starts at $125,300 before options.

Exterior

The S8 is a more purposeful take on the A8’s elegant silhouette, but it’s still understated and a true sleeper. Fans will spot the wider front fenders, the unique front fascia and large air intakes, and the quad exhausts that distinguish it from the regular A8. The standard 21-inch alloy wheels wear summer tires, but all-seasons are a no-cost option. The Black Optic Plus package blacks out the exterior trim and black wheels. HD Matrix-design headlights and OLED taillights are standard.

Interior

The S8 cabin has a trio of screens: a 12.3-inch configurable Virtual Cockpit Plus digital gauge cluster in front of the driver, a 10.1-inch upper infotainment touchscreen in the center stack, and a lower 8.6-inch HVAC touchscreen below it. Infotainment features include wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and navigation. 

Standard features include Valcona leather upholstery, heated, ventilated, and massaging 22-way power front seats, four-zone climate control, a panoramic moonroof, and a 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. The U.S. S8 comes only as a long-wheelbase L variant, so rear legroom is a vast 44.3 inches. Options include night vision, predictive active suspension, and a surround-sound B&O audio system.

Price Range and Best Value

Best Value: The S8 comes in just a single trim at $125,300, with features such as 22-way power front seats with heating, ventilation, and massaging, as well as air suspension, a sport rear differential, and a high-end B&O audio system as standard. Disappointingly, adaptive cruise control and a head-up display are not standard, so we’d add the Executive package to get them.

Powertrain Specifications

Standard sport rear differential and all-wheel steering enhance agility.

EPA Fuel Economy

Fuel type: Premium Gasoline (required) / Fuel tank: 21.7 gallons

Dimensions and Capacities

Warranty

Pros and Cons

Pros: 

• 563-hp V8 launches this 5,000-pound sedan to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds
• All-wheel steering and a sport rear differential make it handle like a small car
• Extremely comfortable with 22-way massaging front seats and available rear massage
• Library-quiet cabin with a supple adaptive air suspension

Cons: 

• Trunk space of 12.5 cubic feet is very small for a car this size
• Adaptive cruise control and some safety features are not standard
• Dual-touchscreen infotainment layout feels dated next to newer rivals
• Fuel economy of 18 MPG combined is poor, even for the segment

Verdict

The S8 occupies a fairly sparsely populated niche in the automotive world – that of the genuinely sporting and exciting full-size sedan. It’s effortless and refined twin-turbo V8 provides waves of torque, while the sport differential and rear-wheel steering turn it into a corner carver with uncanny precision for something this big. Yet, it’s dead quiet and extremely comfortable on the highway in Comfort mode, with vast rear legroom for the chauffeur-driven. The S8 is getting old, and the infotainment gives its age away first, but it still offers a superb blend of cossetting luxury and brutal performance.

Competitors:

• Porsche Panamera
• BMW 760i
• Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance

About the author

Cobus F. Potgieter

Reviews and Features Editor

Cobus F. Potgieter is a Reviews and Features Editor at Autoblog covering new car reviews, and technology and historical features. He moved to motoring media full time in 2021 after a career as a public relations practitioner and joined The Arena Group in June 2025.