bartlane

No clutch pedal. No real gear selection other than up/down. No feel of the shift gates and lever clicking in and out of the gears. It's not the same for me. No heel-toe driving. Etc.

They just aren't the same to me. Auto/stick is better than a true auto, but not as fun as a real manual. At any rate, a buyer should have a choice as to what kind of transmission he gets. We all like different things. I would be driving an S8 today had they brought the stick over. I never really loved my 2000 A8 because it wasn't a stick so I sold it. (For other reasons too but I would have NEVER let it go had it been a manual.)

Ming Blues

Probably most would be just interested in the front seats, not the rears. Wonder where Recaro makes them? USA? Used front seats would be a nightmare to import to USA because buyers would like to inspect them before they shell out big bucks.

Ming Blues

In the US a lot of Audi owners have a blast with turbo charged A4's and A6's. Most of these have stick shifts to keep the rev's up and make the turbos put out boost. These guys hate to give up their sticks! Maybe a macho thing. And we've never had a stick shift A8 to play with. Maybe they are dreadful and poor sellers in Europe. But I bet 20 A8 owners would transplant in a 6 speed in 2 seconds flat if they could do it for $3,000 plus labor.

Ming Blues

KjellA gave us a link to a German used car network. www.mobile.de I've spent time looking at the vast selection available. Over 500 cars! I see German A8's and S8's have clear front turn signal lenses. Are there any other differences?
How many Nav Plus systems are in use? Is there a supply of used Nav Plus units?

KjellA

The guys I spoke to did not want to sell only front seats, that's the problem.

Inspecting should not be a problem, some pictures should do the job. I mean, we do buy lots of cars on the net, don't we?

Are Recaro an american company? I can check if there are any labels on my seats that says anything about origin.

KjellA

What are the specs for the US A8?

Generally speaking, the european cars are less equipped in base model, but there is a much wider range of options to choose from, including colors and combinations. It will also vary slightly from year to year. It is almost hard to find two identical cars. You can configure your own euro A8 on the web at www.audi.de, choose Audi Konfigurator. German language only.

Front turn signal lenses are always clear, but side lenses are amber on A8 and clear on S8.

As you probably know, there are more engine alternatives in europe, 2.5 TDi V6 (150 or 180 HP), 2.8 V6 (174 or 193 HP), and 3.3 TDi V8 are versions I guess you don't have over there? All of them share the same options more or less, but what is standard will vary.

A friend of mine had a 2,8 V6 (173 HP) with FWD, 5-speed manual, automatic climate control and power windows, that was about it. No leather, no seat heating, no nothing actually. Costs more or less the same as an A6 2,8. No wonder there are quite a lot of 2,8's with sports packet around here, hard to distinguish from a S8. Makes me want to put the rear "4.2 quattro" label back on!
;-)

TM

Recaros are made in Germany, IIRC

April

Have you asked AMS in Costa Mesa, Ca ? 949-515-1672

Ming Blues

Really great to have you on this forum. Thanks for your insights!

A8-Germany

In Internet there is a new German page called www.audispeed.com! There are not so many members than in your forum, but there you can get many informations about the European Audi-versions. Normaly the page is especially for Audi S-owners, but there are also some others.
One problem of the page: It's just in German!<ul><li><a href="http://www.audispeed.com">http://www.audispeed.com</a</li></ul>