The key to its excellent handling and ride quality is the rigid aluminum space frame that provides maximum body rigidity with a substantial weight savings over competitors. Even with Audi's all-wheel drive system, the A8 weighs substantially less than the BMW 740iL and the new Mercedes S430. And the A8 feels like it's bolted together more tightly than any car in production.

This Audi A8 is exceptionally quiet. The only intrusion is the crack of tires over pavement joints, and you hear it more than you feel it. There's nothing remotely resembling a squeak or rattle and there is no vibration.

Audi's space frame also improves ride and handling by letting the suspension absorb nearly all the energy transferred from the road surface through the wheels. The A8 delivers a nearly perfect balance of fine handling and ride comfort. Steering is responsive and provides excellent communication between the tires and the driver. The A8 feels light and agile for a car of its size. Driven to the limit of the tires in a corner, it understeers a bit--tending to push toward the edge of the pavement. To counter this, the driver simply lifts a little from the throttle and the front end tracks through the turn. It works beautifully.

The A8 leans a bit from side to side during rapid cornering maneuvers, but its weight shifts smoothly, never abruptly. The ride is smooth, supple, yet without the slightest sensation of floating or wallowing. All the while, the 4.2-liter V8 delivers power on demand, responding with a muted roar to every jab at the gas pedal. No matter the A8's speed, there's a deep well of acceleration producing torque to further increase velocity.

The A8 comes standard with a five-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that allows sequential, clutchless manual shifting on demand. Upshifts are silky smooth in full automatic mode, and downshifts relatively quick, but the electronic control program can be a bit indecisive in its gear selection. This can be solved by using the Tiptronic transmission's manual mode, which allows the driver to choose gears.

Drivers who feel 310 horsepower isn't enough may opt for the S8 performance model. Engine modifications such as revised camshafts and a two-stage variable intake manifold bump horsepower to 360 at 7000 rpm, with a torque increase (from 302) to 317 lbs.-ft. at just 3400 rpm. Coping with the increased velocity are four-piston aluminum Brembo brake calipers on vented discs, a stiffer and lowered suspension, and 18-inch alloy wheels on meaty 245/45 ZR performance tires.

No matter the model, the A8's mechanical systems are first rate. This car is quick, quiet and comfortable, making every drive a pleasant experience or an invigorating one, depending on your disposition.

A key safety improvement for 2001 is Audi's Electronic Stabilization Program, or ESP. Now common in luxury cars, ESP monitors vehicle behavior and driver inputs and uses the antilock brakes and traction control to intervene if the driver begins to lose control, such as the tail end stepping out in a sudden avoidance maneuver. The brakes are excellent.