Photos: 2008 Audi A8 L W12

The A8 L W12 is the absolute top of Audi's product line, a car combining luxury and sporty handling. The L means this is the long wheelbase version, affording extra leg room in the rear seats, while the W12 refers to the car's engine, a massive 6-liter 12 cylinder.

Although an ultimate luxury car, the A8 L W12 uses standard Audi styling in front, with the big grille extending through the bumper. A window in the lower portion of the grille houses the forward-looking radar, used for adaptive cruise control and collision mitigation.

The headlight casing has LED daytime running lights, although it doesn't have the LED parking strip lights used in the R8, A5, and new A4.

The engine is two V-6es set side-by-side and intertwined. With 6-liters and 12 cylinders, it creates 450 horsepower and 428 pound-feet of torque. It is thirsty, though, getting 13 mpg city and 19 mpg highway.

The A8 has typically refined European styling. It looks good, but doesn't particularly stand out. The extra length of the L version means rear seat passengers are partially hidden by the C pillars.

The A8 L W12 comes standard with Quattro all-wheel-drive, giving the big car impressive cornering ability.

The optional blind spot warning system turns on LEDs in the mirror mount when a car is in the lane next to the A8. It is a good system, but only works above about 40 mph.

The interior materials befit the A8's luxury, with stitched leather covering the dashboard and seats. The ceiling and pillars are covered in a soft fabric.

We were impressed by the A8 L's handling. Although it's not the kind of car you would expect to take sport driving, it pivots nicely in the corners.

The instrument cluster gets wood trim surrounding the gauges, a nice touch. In this image, the adaptive cruise control is active. The green lights on the speedometer show that the A8 is tracking the car in front of it.

The six speed automatic transmission works nicely in sport mode, downshifting when you apply the brakes before a corner. There is also a manual mode. The A8 uses Audi's standard MMI controller for controlling navigation, audio, and cell phone.

The car's adaptive air suspension leads to a very smooth ride over rough surfaces, and contributes to stability in hard cornering.

Audi has one of the best rear-view cameras in the business, with overlay lines that curve when the wheels are turned, showing the path of the car.

This rotary dial system for letter input is a little tedious. Fortunately, the A8 L also has a voice command system.

The maps look good on the A8 L's navigation system, but there are no advanced features, such as live traffic.

Route guidance instructions appear on the instrument cluster display, a useful addition.

The cell phone integration is excellent, importing phone books easily and making the contacts accessible.

The A8 L comes with Sirius satellite radio amongst its many audio sources.

The Audi Music Interface lets you connect an iPod, USB drive, or any other audio device through an auxiliary input. The iPod integration is excellent.

There is also a CD changer in the glove compartment that can read MP3 CDs. The interface merely lets you browse folders.

The Bang & Olufsen digital signal processor lets you adjust the surround sound level and focus the audio on the driver, front seats, rear seats, or the entire cabin.

The optional Bang & Olufsen audio system delivers the best sound we've ever heard in a car. It uses 14 speakers each with its own amp and over 1,000 watts. This subwoofer sits on the rear deck with full range drivers to either side.

As a super luxury car, the A8 L has this optional refrigerator between the rear seats, perfect for a couple of champagne bottles.

LCDs embedded in the headrests are part of the standard rear seat DVD entertainment system.

The DVD changer is hidden in the trunk, behind a panel. This cartridge system is a little cheap for such a nice car.