Just looking at this elongated twelve-cylinder Audi A8 in the S-line version will confirm to you that the person who could ride in such a carriage at the beginning of the third millennium was either an extremely wealthy individual or a high-ranking statesman. So both fit, because this limousine captured in the pictures belonged to the inventory of the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic, so Vladimír Mečiar had it at his disposal.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
Vladimír Mečiar was probably driving the car.
It is not 100% documented that Mečiar drove with this given piece. However, according to our information, he liked to find comfort in its back seats. This top-of-the-range A8 is something that at one time had a hard time finding competition. Even Klaus’ contemporary dark blue A8 with a 335bhp V8 wasn’t quite as majestic.
The long four-door dachshund with air suspension and 19-inch alloy wheels in a typical design still impresses today with its timeless design. After all, the Audi A8 generation D3 was introduced already in 2002! So almost everything you see in the car debuted more than 20 years ago.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
The extended model has stylish 19-inch wheels.
As for the exterior, apart from the established parking sensors, one of the novelties of the car was bi-xenon lights equipped with cornering lights. The air suspension has also received an adaptive design, while no one will be surprised that this generation was equipped with fourth-generation quattro all-wheel drive with a Torsen central differential.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
One of the novelties of the D3 generation was bi-xenons.
Chrome was not spared on the outside, there is also keyless entry. The trunk can be considered giant, as well as all four brake discs, which somehow fit behind the massive 19-inch wheels.
Premiers of comfort
The interior is literally interwoven with leather and wood, and thanks to the luxurious four-seater design, it invites you to sit behind the wheel and behind the wheel. You just don’t know where to go first. Anyway, when you sit down, you don’t have to worry about closing the door, because you have electric servomotors for that. So no chipping!
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
The cabin is brimming with luxury befitting a flagship.
As soon as you jump forward, the logos of the Bose premium audio system, four-zone digiclima, heating and ventilation of electrically controlled seats, electric handbrake, adaptive cruise control, darkened rear-view mirrors, photochromic rear-view mirror, color on-board computer, sunroof or alarm immediately attract your attention.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
Want to start the engine and adjust your vehicle with just the touch of a finger?
On the central tunnel, you will find a revolutionary thing – a fingerprint sensor, thanks to which you are able to start the engine and reset the vehicle according to your stored preferences. At that time, it was an unprecedented matter.
You can also notice the retractable color MMI multimedia system, which was first introduced in the A8 D3 at the time. The system offers satellite navigation with DVD maps, music playback from a CD changer or data transmission using optical fibers and microprocessors.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
In the back you have great seats, TV, air conditioning and other gadgets.
And how can passengers in the back have fun sitting on electrically controlled seats with heating and ventilation? Royal, because they have two TVs at their disposal and storage spaces, including ashtrays, or their own air conditioning control panel. There are also shading blinds on the sides and at the back, so anyone who wants to can travel completely anonymously in the back.
W for quad bike
In terms of driving, the car is megalomaniacally comfortable. Rather than driving, it floats along the road comfortably. Turning the steering wheel at low speeds is as easy as in a Fiat Panda with active city mode, so you won’t get tired in this regard.
On the contrary, you will enjoy listening to the whirring of the six-liter twelve-cylinder with a structure reminiscent of the letter W. This unconventional arrangement is due to space, while the space saving allowed the manufacturer to give the W12 model all-wheel drive, which would not be feasible when using a standard V12.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
The six-liter W12 is actually a compact combination of two three-liter VR6 six-cylinders.
In any case, to have 450 atmospheric horses under the hood and a torque of 580 Nm packed into a six-liter displacement volume is a terno even for today. Add to that the pleasant operation of the automatic six-cylinder engine from ZF, perfect noise isolation, the maximum speed electronically limited to 250 km/h, and acceleration from zero to one hundred achievable in five and a half seconds.
At one time, such a piece cost around four million Slovak crowns, plus or minus a few hundred thousand. You can certainly add to this the thirst of the model exceeding fifteen liters of gasoline per hundred and high maintenance costs. In short, at that time it was a luxury limousine for important, influential and very rich people.
Photo: Lukáš Kukla
Today, you can buy the A8 D3 generation from about 100,000 upwards, however, usually in poor specifications, with a trip to the moon and back and potential investments in repairs that are not even covered by construction savings. The nicer pieces with a gasoline eight-cylinder start at the level of 250,000. For the W12 models, you have to go to Germany, for example, while their upper price limit is 500,000 CZK.
However, if we have a car that has been preserved in this way, in addition to originating from Slovakia’s highest circles, the matter of price is rather a form of offer towards the owner, because we can already talk about a collector’s item. In addition, we heard that if the amount is adequate, even this highly luxurious model can change hands. Just a side note, if you didn’t know what to get under the tree…
2023-08-15 03:01:28
#Mečiars #Audi #W12 #starts #fingerprint #TVs #powerful #Klauss #Garáž.cz
