Car News : 2008 Audi S8 review

As motoring journalists, people never pick us as the drivers of the cars we’re in. That’s why it’s amusing to find people standing next to your test car talking about it, only to stare in shock and amusement as you unlock the door and drive away.

So it was a sunny Spring day and I’m getting some milk from the local supermarket. I’m dressed in tracky-dacks and an old t-shirt. I approach the beige S8 and spot a young child and his father standing next to the car. The boy says “Dad, look, it says ‘V10’!” The Dad chuckles to himself and says, “It’s not a V10 son, they’ve obviously just stuck the badge on to make themselves feel better about spending 200-large on a car.”

I then slip through the pair, open the door, stick my finger on the fingerprint reader and turn over the 5.2-litre – V10. The father looks at me awkwardly, and realises that dirty noise exiting the engine is in fact the idling burble of a V10. As I drove off I could see him eating some humble pie, trying to explain to his son that he was wrong and that it was in fact a V10. You see, since Volkswagen Group bought Lamborghini, there has been a spate of part swapping between the companies under the VW Group hat – including Audi and Lamborghini.