I have a 98 and its still awesome to drive

Agree, and this clip is history

My father had one new and it was astonishing. He also nearly did 295 km/h (speedometer) on the Autobahn

Yes, totally. My brother and I had a 96' 4.2L petrol, and 2 years ago the transmission went out so it was basically not worth to repair it since it costs about half the price of the car here.. But overall a great car, so quiet inside you lose sense of speed until you floor the pedal and hear that V8 roar..

👍🏽 Exactly if you compare it with the early 90’s luxury cars the only one could stand to it was the w140

Especially when compared to the competition of the time. Audis always look the most cutting edge and modern tbh

@@the-boring-car-guy agreed. I have a 2014 audi a7 and it still looks so good parked next to 2017-2019 cars

Timeyin Sholaye definitely. Plus the new a7 looks Uber modern and cool

ruzzell907 The rear tail lights still remind me of the Audi 90 series. They could have made the rear tail lights look more like A4 which came out in 1994, instead of doing a carry -over job from the previous generation.

@@timeyinsholaye9169 2014-15 cars have a very modern design.

You what mate? So cars that can drive themselves on the motorway aren’t innovative to you? There is more new technology and innovation than there ever was in the 90’s, we have 3 cylinder engine with 200 Horsepower now

@@TristanSilverwood every 10 years are with innovation. Those features in 1994 were as new as todays new features. Those power mirrors are not even in 2020 cheap cars.

PQTH There are no cars that can drive on public roads themselves today. Only prototypes, just like in the 1990s.

Alexei Voloshin could cars in the 90’s confidently cruise on the motorway with little to no input whilst being available on cars under 15k?

@@alexeivoloshin5984 sure. Mercedes S Class and Tesla for example

The A4 didn't exist until 1994. Maybe they shrunk this down two platform sizes to make the A4...

Ike N It was a light hearted comment.

Maybe you can buy the A 2

I could afford this model, probably with about 200000 km and 4 previous owners and none of the electronics working and the engine tearing itself apart and... I'll stop now.

@@G-Mastah-Fash LOL

Just Imagine the insurance and taxes😂

They cost next to nothing for a reason these days. They are incredibly expensive to maintain like all old luxury cars. You sort out one problem and the next problem will be waiting around the corner really.

The design must have been a total blast in '94

You're correct. The styling still looks modern. The same can't be said about its contemporaries

and virtually remained the same forever

What

soundseeker63 that's their appeal bro. Sales figures seem to confirm that. Audi is killing it these days.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it

That’s called good branding. Imagine designing a new model every few years while having to keep the original lining, and all that through 30+ years.

The A8 might have been available in UK before E38 was. You must remember the month matters, as E38 was barely available starting in June for LHD markets.

Or from a Passat.

inflation means this isn’t much different to today

Sir Nigel Farage yes and that's proportionally more than we pay today thankfully because the government locked the tax escalator otherwise we would be seeing £2.50 a litre now.

Not the A8, but the brand in itself. The R8 has done wonders, probably one of the most impactful halo cars ever made.

@@Mr0supra0 Yeah the R8 and the power wagons with Quattro (RS4,RS6) were really good for Audi. When you think of 4 wheel drive you think of Audi.

Imagine rich business people in 1994 saying "i have a jaguar" . Audi came here like Tesla today.

*Dies in Merc

Info History it was staged they killed her and no matter what the car was, she was dying in that tunnel.

@@Alexander_l322 it was a car accident due to speeding because of the paparazzi. The S-Klasse was actually quite safe and she would survive had she actually wore seatbelts

That’s what they want you too think

Info History nothing to do with the drunk driver eh?

And with the cheapest Volkswagen New Beetle you could get. I love Audi but I hate that they share low quality parts with their cheaper brands

@@michu6777 Audi is always the better option than Bentley. Bentley still use A8/Q7 platform and share all the parts.

It just isn't it might look like it but you're just plainly wrong

@@charlie-talbottalbot5472 look at pictures, they're the same

Like the bank statements after you have to repair those shitboxes?

@@partyjerk had an a3, and now an a4. Never had problems. Neither one of my friends had major issues. But if u drive like a tool everything will get worn out with time. What car do you suggest? :)

@@partyjerk and calling audi shitboxes is just ridiculous. Audi owned group b, one of the best 4 wheel drives ever built. But i guess you cant afford an audi so its a shitbox haha

@@yisakii8397 i can't afford to fix them all the time. "owned" LOL maybe 1 year they did ok

@@partyjerk so what car do you Suggest?

Always wanted an s8

Audi wasn't that huge. They only had A8 100 80 rs2. They started big in 1997.

@@rarestrong8256 That's not accurate, at least in terms of both 1997 and 1994. The A6 had been announced and A4 was entering production. Except A8, they were all gone in 1997. A8 was released in Oct 1996 stateside and that was over 1 year after the A4 went on sale and made a splash.

The LS400 was available in the UK at the time, but we'd never put it in the same bracket as the four on show here as it's not really in the same bracket, it's not really so much of a drivers car.

Nah, it's xenophobia. The idea that an Asian company cannot deliver high quality upper class motoring. A lot of folks dance around that and play silly mind games.

Audi and Volkswagen used SONY ICE in the early 90s out of the factory.

Always the best

Some girl of an aristocrat father sold me her '01 A8L. Still blows the Merc outta town after 20 years and still makes that '93 S-class look more like 10 years older than it is... #BuyItForLife

Big up MK

Let me ruin your selfesteem about your "knowledge" of cars. In the video, A8 is compared with E32 7-series and XJ introduced in mid 80's. Almost 10 years before A8. Same year A8 came out, E38 came out, and so did new XJ. Both looking way better than A8. Till this day, E38 is considered one of best looking badass cars, well sought after by enthusiasts while all 1st gen. A8 did end in scrapyards years back.

El Shuwix just a fan of the looks! Big fan of the XJ too. To each your own though!

Audi looked better than the competition up until mid 2000's. Around 2012 till today, Mercedes has the best looks.

@@tanjoutcholak3538 There are 26 S-klasse from 1994 listed on Autoscout24 (whole Europe), there are 27 BMW 7er ............ and 2 Audi A8. And W140 was 3 year old model. Guess why, genius?

@@KretinoSantino 👍 They were all good cars, but Audi's crowning achievement was the D3 A8 introduced in 2002. 1994 was a big step for them, but wasn't quite there yet.

Do not insulting the cars! Fuck Jesus!

So does yo mama! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh

not 'were'. they still are rubbish.

Just mad how one of those was 40K, I’m leasing from now on, no point buying cars outright when they’re new

@@snakecold6755 You are just demonized

simple minds - waterfront!

Because Ford copied the new Audi aesthetic for the Taurus in 1982 and used it again for the future Crown Victoria in 1987-88, which later came out in 1991. The Crown Victoria looks like the Audi, because Audi evolved their existing design language from the 80,90, 100 and V8, while Ford emulated it. Look at the Audi V8 from 1988 and then compare the boxy, yet smooth-edged for 1988 Ford LTD Crown Vic. Then look at the aerodynamic 1991.5 to 2011 Crown Victoria. I work for Ford and know the real story.

Every single automatic today does that

Simple Minds - Alive and Kicking

I mean, it's there in the Content ID... lol

I noticed that too. Maybe that's normal to see in the UK and Europe. I've never seen that in the U.S. unless...it's aftermarket.

Most car makers even back then contracted out their Audio equipment to other manufactures. Back then I remember Blaupunkt most reputable for its Radio Reception. Sony even today is a majority cars sold supplier to Ford.

yes, I do realize and understand that point and I didn't contest it.

I think the guy's point was that even if luxury car manufacturers choose to use standard equipment from other vendors, that they should at least remove the labelling

In the 90s, Sony was prestigious enough for a luxury car, though. They were high price, high quality, luxury goods. Kids may have flaunted stolen Walkmen that they spent 5 years' worth of allowance on the same way kids today brag about wasting $200 on their eye-searingly colored, poorly made Nike Airs, but Sony's higher end stuff was more like New Balance than Nike: classy, understated, built to last, fairly priced for the quality product it is, and unbeatably good at its intended purpose. It would've been a bigger blow to brand image at the time if Audi *didn't* have a Sony logo on their stereos. If they engineered the sound systems in-house or contracted out debadged custom units to a dedicated supplier, it would've said that they were too cheap and too unconcerned with sound quality to buy Sony.

Ja but expensive maintenance etcetera

@@romeonijsse2359 I since then bought one, a -94 4,2 gave 1200 for it. best 1200 i've spent for 300hp! i fixed a few things myself and even gave it to a garage, wasn't more expensive than any other car.

You haven't owned one then. Biggest piles on the road. Regards someone who did own one.

Already being replaced then with new E38, but not available for testing at the time of filming.

Flashindapan I had just started working for an Audi dealer when this model came to the US. All the A8’s I saw had an Audi branded radio installed.

The E32 looks good but that's where it ends. Never have i had so many issues with a car (all common with many owners) you can't trust them. Only the Merc in this group stood the test of time and even they are not perfect.

Silly complaint, maybe use common sense? You are somewhat aware of the 7's history, but the E38 didn't automatically become available just because it was 1994. Months, weeks, and days are a huge factor. Come on. Audi went public with the A8 in early 1994, before BMW removed the press embargo in May 1994. For all you know, E38s weren't available at this time and Audi UK lent this pre-production A8 to Top Gear, while Top Gear didn't have access to the newer set of cars (XJ, E38) for 1995 model year until months later. It should be very obvious, that these cars come out at different times of the year and the E38 wasn't ready until August 1994 for UK.

@@jmin8400 Maybe in GB top gear had it's difficulties to get the latest 7 series to make a comparison which would be valuable, but that's their problem, better they should have been waiting a few weeks than compare two cars their technology is 7 years apart.

@@mopa123 Yes it's very annoying when that happens, I agree. And I have noticed this with a number of media professionals in many cases and you pretty much have to suspend to disbelief. It's agenda driven. Go and compare old models that are in the process of being redesigned, with a contemporary that is also being introduced, to elevate it for a segment. I'm sure you noticed how the refreshed S-class was there and I believe that we went on sale in spring 1994, yet no E38. I nearly noticed the same thing too, but I had to remember the logistics of press vehicles being available and redesigns being months apart, not even weeks. They do this often and Top Gear definitely knew better, because although the press embargo for the E38 was removed May 2nd 1994, it was first revealed February 18, 1994 in a small press packet utilizing a silver 730i pilot production unit built 1993. Not to mention spy shots since 1991. LHD E38 production began in early April, while ironically A8 production began in June 1994. All very odd, but likely Audi UK lent TG a pre-production A8 and BMW didn't.

in those days no, it didnt.

2k-6k dependent on condition. Problem is that automatic transmission will give you problems sooner or later, usually much sooner. The 4.2 is belt driven, not chain so it doesn’t have the timing chain/guide issues of the newer 4.2’s. Try to find an S8. Much rarer, but they seem to have less transmission issues.

@@johngriffith7315 thanks mate appreciate the comment