Audi S8 tuned to 640 hp by ABT Sportsline

Volkswagen Group tuning house ABT Sportsline debuted its latest version of Audi's flagship luxury-sport sedan, the Audi S8. The already quick sedan has received a facelift for the 2015 model year, as revealed a few months ago at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, and it didn't take ABT Sportsline long to get their hands on the latest version.

While Audi's changes to the exterior have been relatively mild, with restyled front and rear bumpers and a slightly redesigned grille, the tuning house once again focused on changes under the hood. Though this time they didn't go (excessively) overboard.

The stock Audi S8 produces 520 hp and 497 lb-ft of torque courtesy of its 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, but ABT Sportsline has been able to raise those power figures to 640 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque by installing their own engine-control unit. ABT Sportsline has also removed the speed limiter so the car is no longer capped at a more-than-reasonable 155 mph, but can now reportedly achieve 173 mph. With those power figures, the car is undoubtedly capable of more, though we're glad that some measure of self-preservation remained in this effort.

The tuning house has also installed a stainless steel exhaust system of their own design, in addition to giving the car 21-inch ABT DR alloy wheels to complement the black exterior. ABT Sporstline says that 20-inch wheels in a couple different finishes are also available, as well as the option to lower the car by about an inch on each axle through ABT Level Control.

Like most of ABT Sportsline's cars, this Audi S8 is more about understated power rather than communicating to everyone in traffic that there's something sinister underhood, and the S8's performance figures are a bit shy of the company's previous effort with the 2014 RS7, which they had tuned to an impressive 700 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque.

By Jay Ramey