For decades now, German carmakers have dominated the premium segments from top to bottom with only a few notable exceptions questioning their ‘authorita’ along the way.
Two of the most successful luxury brands from the land of engineering excellence are BMW and Audi, both of which offer a high performance version of their flagship limousines.
Audi chose to go alone to create the S8 sports sedan, which it equipped with the most potent version of its new 4.0-liter TFSI V8 pushing out 513hp (520PS) and 479 lb-ft (648Nm) of peak torque towards all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission and a permanent all-wheel drive system.
BMW, on the other hand, let Alpina tune its 7-Series model, giving birth to the B7 that sports a tweaked 4.4-liter V8 twin-turbocharged engine rated at 540-horses and 538 lb-ft (729Nm). An 8-speed automatic transmission is called upon to transfer power to the rear wheels on the base model and optionally, to all four wheels.
The heavyweight performance sedans are both aimed at people with equally fat bank accounts, as the S8 start at $110,000 while the B7 commands an even heftier $128,495.
While the specifications may say one thing, Motor Trend senior features editor Jonny Lieberman discovered that reality says another in the latest episode of Head 2 Head.
To find out what we mean by that, scroll down to watch the video.
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