Before the first 4.0-litre, twin-turbo, TFSI V8 has even arrived in South Africa in the latest fleet of Audi S6 and S7 Sportbacks; the German tuners have already put a performance shot in its arm. Renowned Volkswagen and Audi tuner ABT Sportsline has announced its tuning package for the latest V8, Audi S7 Sportback. A tune which brings it closer to the performance credentials of the same engine and its power output in the bigger Audi S8 V8 TFSI.
Aesthetics modifications are all pretty subtle but sinister, like the new ABT 21-inch alloy wheels and a suspension called ‘ABT Level Control’ that’s been lowered and given sportier springs. ABT have chosen to call it the Audi AS7, which is a direct acronym of ‘astonishingly sporty’ according to them. The sporty, executive saloon now gets a power boost to 382 kW and 650 Nm over the standard 309 kW and 550 Nm. Lovely.
The new TFSI V8 is quite a sprightly new motor from the Audi / Volkswagen / Bentley stables, which plys its trade in the new Audi S8 as mentioned above, so we doubt ABT did little more than increase power and torque with a few ECU reprogramming and modifications to the air intake and exhaust system. The result is that top speed has been increased to 290 km/h, because of course the standard electronic limiter has been removed as well. Zero to 100 km/h is dealt with in 4 seconds. Think of it as an S8 in an S7 Sportback body. Nice combo we say.
