Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I have a fantastic pair of black work shoes cobbled together by the same shoemaking family in Manama who once made footwear for the late Emir of Bahrain.
The shoes are incredibly comfortable and my feet simply slide into them each morning.
That same feeling of warmth and quality encases a driver’s whole body when you slip behind the wheel of the new Audi A8L.
Even the door refuses to bang shut ... that would be far too common an experience for an executive saloon of this quality. No, this car door sort of sucks its way into place with the slightest touch. It’s all about luxury and alignment when it comes to a car that is made to measure.
The Audi Centre Bahrain team had a notable spring in its step when I collected the car for this road test, understandably too. Sales manager Geetan Jessen had seen the latest glowing review of the A8L on one of the leading motoring websites comparing the model with a couple of its main rivals.
According to car and driver, governments buy big luxury cars to move around the deciders and lucky mortals use them to celebrate lives well lived and to seal themselves off from the outside world, a world hopelessly short of wood inlays and power seats that have 22 electric adjustments.
The ideal big car, they concluded, has a calm and reassuring presence, deliberate and proficient in motion and is abundantly powerful. “While it’s doubtful that many buyers in this segment ever exploit the true abilities of their cars, at least we did. Doing so distinguished the Audi as the most compelling and the best value,” it reported.
Audi’s new top model is both longer and wider than its main long-wheelbase competitors. The A8L has a body built from aluminum and therefore weighs about 40 per cent less than a comparable steel body. Its tremendous rigidity is the key to the car’s precise handling, low interior noise levels and high passive safety for the occupants in the event of an accident.
The interior exudes craftsmanship and style. The seats, made of soft, high-quality brown leather, upholstered by hand, looked perfect despite that fact that the car was black. I always thought black and brown could not be mixed but, somehow, this combination worked superbly. Perhaps I should try brown laces in my black shoes to see if I can pull off the same colour-co-ordinated statement.
The most delightful item of style was the gearstick, or as Geetan correctly described it – the all-new ‘selector lever’. It’s shaped like a yacht’s control lever. How cool is that? It is not only used to change gear but also serves as an ergonomic hand rest when operating the multi-media interface.
The A8L Quattro with its 4.2-litre V8 engine starts at BD39,500 and comes with a five-year unlimited km warranty surface, a five-year and/or 105,000km service package, five-year GCC roadside assist, 12-year rust warranty and first year registration.
Although there is only four seconds difference in the time it takes to reach 100kph from the traffic lights in comparison to its smaller engined 3-litre supercharged sister (and more than BD5,000 in price) the V8 remains a firm favourite with Bahrain’s business executives.
In Chinese communities around the world, eight is considered the most fortuitous of numbers, making it much coveted for addresses, phone numbers and bank accounts. And, without question, you would be extremely fortuitous to drive an Audi A8L every day.
For more information, contact the Audi Centre Bahrain on 17459933.
