I had the new 2008 Audi S5 over the weekend. Whoa, Jim. What a beauteous piece of road missile. If I hadn't had a deadline calling me back to my desk, I'd have been at the wheel all weekend long. As it was, I managed enough seat time to confirm that this baby belongs on any sport-coupe buyer's short list.

Full disclosure: I'm a big Audi fan. I used to own an A6 2.7T, and I loved its unique blend of cutting-edge techno and artful form. (Plus, you don't see Audis on every corner, at least not here in L.A. -- where seemingly every other car is a Benz or a BMW.) The S5 has a similarly winning flair. Former design chief Walter de'Silva's shape seduces with sensual curves and energizing creases. Audi gets the details so right. Check out the brushed-aluminum exterior mirror housings. The row of spaceshippy LED daytime running lights under the headlamps (oh, sorry, you can't -- the Euro model in these pix doesn't have 'em. Well, trust me: They're nice). Those meaty 19-inch Dunlops enveloping fetching alloys. It's the same inside: big gauges, the cool and user-friendly MMI multifunction system, interesting detailing. The S5 looks elegant but edgy. You could roll it bone-stock onto the set of a sci-fi flick, and the production designer would think it'd been cooked up by the crews at Industrial Light & Magic.

As taken as I am with the S5's shape, though, it's how it behaves that has me jotting this down in a rush to get you the goodies. Under that svelte hood lies a version of Audi's 4.2-liter V-8 outfitted with direct injection and rated at a burly 353 horses. Blend in a six-speed manual shifter, quattro all-wheel drive, a lowered and stiffened suspension, and . . . stir. Yum. Yum.
2008 Audi S5

How yummy? Last week, the boys took the S5 to the track and came back all giggly and wide-eyed. How does 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds sound? The launch was high-drama, high-winding, sidestep-the-clutch stuff, but you can't argue with the resulting number. The S5 also laid down a quarter mile of 13.1 seconds at 105.2 mph. Yeeow. That's awfully quick for such a pretty, refined thing.

The S5 keeps the g's coming all around the friction circle. Stops from 60 mph take just 105 feet, and the S5 will burn around the skidpad at 0.90 g. Ooooohhh. Just imagine what the extra-potent RS5 will do . . .

Is there anything I don't like? The steering rack has been relocated for better feel, but there's still not a lot of road feel and kickback is conspicuous. The S5 also has that overboosted assist we've noted in other Audis before. BMW still has the lock on wheeling finesse.

Otherwise, I'm taken with the S5. At roughly $55K, it's pricey but not stupid-pricey -- you'll feel well-compensated for your investment. Alas, our test car is already gone. And I'm still hungry for more.

As an alternative to the smugness of Mercedes and the self-satisfaction of BMW, Audi always did very well. It was a minority player and very much the alternative smart German car.

But now its sales are accelerating as if on overboost and it's no longer any kind of alternative. As it gains full membership to the elite German club, Audi has started to cavort about with just the same smug self-satisfaction as its rivals, which is ironic for those of us who liked Audi in an 'I knew him before he was famous' kind of way.

There's a giant glass-palace Audi dealership going up that'll loom over the main Western approach to London like the transparently superior egos involved. The tone of Audi's advertising campaigns grows ever more snooty. And through their design, the cars themselves, which once presented an elegantly pared-back face to the world, look to have developed the same amore-propre.

I'm not slagging off the substance of the cars here. They've been getting better and better. I'd choose an R8 over a 911 or a Vantage in a heartbeat. The RS4 is pretty much peerless and the new TT's a peach. If someone told me I'd be using an A6 V6 diesel quattro Avant every day for the rest of my life I'd be properly chuffed.

But look at them. Audi calls it 'emotional design'. Maybe you do too, but to me it's all a bit flash and it has given them an unbecomingly vulgar swagger.

Now here's the new A5 and its S5 version. The design hogs your retina. The curves are fulsome, the jewellery bling, the grille immodest. And it looks big. The shell is wider than an A4's and longer in the wheelbase, and then it's visually magnified by its full-hipped and low-roofed proportions.

See it on 17-inch wheels and it looks like a plump sofa on tiny castors. Our photo S5 is on 19s. But though it might look like an A6 coupe, it's a member of the A4 family, which puts it as a rival for the bigger-engined versions of the 3-Series coupe and CLK. The size is just symptomatic of the way Audi leads with the chin these days

It's a very new car, because we're talking about the next-gen A4, due at the turn of the year, rather than the current one. Body, suspension, transmission, steering, they're all a fresh generation. Only the 4.2 FSI V8 is an old friend, from the S4, but even so it's had a little extra souping-up so it hits a walloping 354bhp.

The biggest change is the front suspension. Big Audis always had a long front overhang, because they use longitudinal engines, and the engine and clutch had to be ahead of the front axle so they could take drive to the front wheels. That's why they felt so nose-heavy through corners.

Now though, some super clever jiggery-pokery with the components means the driveshafts and front suspension are ahead of the clutch, so the wheels have moved forward and the engine has - relative to the wheels - moved back, which is good for weight distribution. The quattro system's torque is rear-biased, too. Also the steering rack has been moved closer to the wheels, so its linkages are shorter and don't flex so much, to the benefit of accuracy and feel.

So I'm feeling optimistic. Audi's recent sporting cars have been good, and here's one where they don't seem to have spared the engineering expense. Right out of the traps it feels alive. The throttle has a bite to it, snapping the car ahead on even the slightest tickle, at which point a gorgeously deep V8 rumble starts swirling around the cabin.

The six-speed gearbox's action, specially shortened for the S5 over regular A5s, is sharp and quick, once you've learned it doesn't tolerate being mis-aimed across the gate. The brakes have a concise, reassuring action and they're not overservoed like so many Audis were. The steering is a bit overlight but, far more important, is as precise as promised.

And yet... when you push a bit harder you find that the S5 doesn't warm to the task. It doesn't come more alive as it works harder, rather its verve drains dispiritingly away.

Don't pay too much attention to the S5 badge, just think of it as an A5 V8. The job of tackling the V8 BMW M3 is for next year's RS5. Yes there's strong performance, but is it really 350-plus horsepower? All the horses don't seem to want to gallop in the same direction at the same time. OK, the S5's 5.1 seconds to 62mph isn't exactly shabby, but the diesel manages the same run in 5.9. The S5 is a ruddy rapid cruiser with big torque and an endearing noise, but it's not a supercar.

Then we get the vexed issue of handling. You sure get easy, very rapid travel. I love the reassuring traction when the road gets patchily wet or slippery. The steering isn't only accurate, it has useful feel to it.

But the message it sends out never varies. I'm understeering, it says, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's gentle, harmless understeer, but trimming the throttle doesn't alter the attitude one bit. I'm not asking for lairy slides here, but I do want to be able to point the nose inward by lifting-off or slightly edge the load onto the rear tyres by accelerating, and I want more of a sense that the car's enjoying the experience rather than just tolerating it.

At the end of my drive, the chassis engineer asked whether the new front axle layout made much difference. I didn't want to offend the guy, so I made noises about the improved steering accuracy. But given that he'd asked, I had to say the S5 still felt nose-heavy and lifeless at the limit. "Exactly," he flatly replied.

Seems the new layout means he can make the car far more playable, but the marketing types told him he had to pull it back to the usual Audi understeer because the customers like it - but have they tried anything else? Ah well, here's hoping he gets his way on the RS5.

If that sounds like a wasted opportunity, you have to remember there was another reason the front axle was redesigned: proportions and style. With the new pedestrian protection rules, all cars are getting longer in the nose, and that's not a good look.

Audi was already the maker of some of the world's biggest-conked cars, so if it hadn't done something to shift the wheels forward the overhang would have grown ridiculous. You'd have been driving through Lancashire and your front numberplate would already have arrived in Yorkshire.

So, this car I'd been looking forward to just didn't ignite my fervour. It's like when one of your favourite songs gets bashed out by a very competent covers band at a wedding. All the substance is there, but the edge has been taken off just to make sure the assembled aunties and pre-teens won't get their ears mauled.

Never mind, I bring better news. The A5, with its V6 engines, is a lot more satisfying. It's cheaper and makes a better job of dovetailing expectation with execution. Audi's 240bhp 3.0 V6 diesel is one of the very best for the way it spreads huge torque over a wide rev range and doesn't make any racket while it's at it.

And because any turbodiesel has a less sharp-edged accelerator response than a V8 petrol, the mute handling isn't such an issue, because the car bids you drive it in a different style. And then you notice the ride is really fairly supple. With quattro drive to contain the thrust, the A5 TDi is a good buy at £33,430.

These two arrive in July. After a few weeks there'll be a 3.2 V6 petrol. There'll also be a 2.7 diesel, and next year some four-cylinders, a 1.8 Turbo 170bhp petrol (from £26k) and a 2.0T 200bhp.

A cabrio version of the A5 is coming down the pipe too, and, yes, you can imagine exactly what it'll look like. Never mind what BMW has been up to with the folding hard top 3-Series, the A5/S5 cabrio gets a canvas roof. Audi people insist canvas is lighter, takes up less space when it's folded and if it's properly done is just as quiet roof-up.

I'm pretty sure too that the cabrio is the reason the A5 has such a minuscule back seat - the coupe uses a bench designed to fit around the cabrio's folded roof, so it's narrow and there's less legroom and headroom than in a Mini. As you can imagine, that's cramped. But negotiate yourself a front seat in the A5/S5 and it's a very good place to be. Audi still does cabin design and materials and illumination better than anyone else.

If you want more space, get the new A4. Not that that'll be exactly just a saloon version of the A5. The A4 will have a narrower track and have to do without some of the coupe's expensive aluminium bits in the suspension.

But the A5 does give us some clues that the A4 has the potential to be a fine saloon. Even a great one, if only Audi will allow itself to release all the potential.

Audi has been serious for decades, busily bringing us such engineering breakthroughs as the five-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive, the aluminum chassis, direct fuel injection and competition-prepared diesels. It's been like science class. At least the lab projects have been impressing the neighbors and even winning races at Le Mans.

But with the 2008 Audi S5, the technoid visionaries of Ingolstadt have finally lightened up. After all, we're Americans. We're just a simple people. Speed and style are what sell.

Nuvolari Returns From the Past
Audi has figured out that a coupe should be beautiful, not merely exclusive. Even as the typical German sedan has become a beast with swollen fenders and a massive grille, designed to bludgeon the meek out of the fast lane on the autobahn, the 2008 Audi S5 has a different look. Its curving contours are leaner, more expressive and more energetic.

The face of the new Audi coupe comes from the midengine Audi R8 sports car, and the rest has been inspired by the 2003 Nuvolari showcar. The S5 version of the coupe is set apart visually from the conventional A5 by a radiator grille painted in platinum gray and inlaid with chrome trim, more aggressive bumpers, outside mirrors painted silver and four oval tailpipes.

Overall, this is a car that makes its luxury statement with color and chrome, a look that sets it apart from its German counterparts, the BMW 6 Series and Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class.

A New Way of Going Down the Road
The A5 begins with the structure of the A4 sedan, and it's broadly similar in size, though predictably lower and wider. At the same time, the wheelbase has been stretched 4.1 inches, which comes from relocating the differential for the front wheels ahead of the clutch.

Now the front wheels are carried by a lightweight, aluminum suspension with five links on each side, which is rigidly attached to the body by a separate subframe. Meanwhile the rack-and-pinion steering assembly also has found a new home close to the centerline of the wheels.

When you pencil it out, these changes have a huge impact. There are 5.3 fewer inches of front overhang, so there's less mass leading the front tires down the road, and that means the car is more responsive to steering inputs. The coupe also distributes its 3,807 pounds more evenly, 58 percent front/42 percent rear. And finally the steering is crisper, more direct.

It's in Your Hands
There's a new, down-the-road sense in this car that you can feel as soon as you take the steering wheel. The S5 feels alert, completely different from an A4 sedan or even an RS4.

It's a difference you can measure on the test track. On the skid pad, the S5 balances easily on its 255/35ZR18 Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. It hangs on until you reach 0.91g, which is a fraction more than the Audi RS4 sedan achieves. More important, the S5 maintains its poise even at the limit, and a quick dab at the throttle is enough to change its cornering arc.

The S5 balances nicely through the slalom as well, recording a speed of 68.6 mph, which compares to the RS4 sedan's 70.6 mph. The steering effort of the Audi coupe's speed-sensitive system is a little light, and it's overmatched by the quick turn-in from the chassis and tires, yet the car's overall responsiveness inspires complete confidence. Gone is the vague, on-center steering action that has characterized other Audi models.

This coupe fits the way real Americans drive. It's meant to travel enormous distances at high speed, undeterred by the character of the road or the nature of the weather. As the sporting version of the Audi coupe, the S5 has had its suspension snubbed down to a fairly tight calibration, a measure to keep the inevitable torque reaction of all-wheel drive from disturbing your sense of command and control through the steering wheel.

As you'd expect, these standard 19-inch, 35-series tires are pretty aggressive, though, and they'll patter across the ridges between the concrete slabs on the freeway or across broken pavement.

A V8 That's Perfect for America
Yet it's the engine that dominates the S5, just as it should in a sporting coupe. Audi's 4.2-liter V8 appears once again here, calibrated this time to deliver 354 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 325 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 rpm.

This long-stroke V8 doesn't have a very sexy reputation, yet it's brilliant in both character and performance. It pulls from very low rpm just like an American-built V8, and then it has another dimension of power that carries you to its 7,000-rpm redline.

The tractability of this engine perfectly suits an automatic transmission, yet we still prefer the crisp throttle response that comes with a six-speed manual transmission. The shift linkage combines fairly long, light-effort throws with firm engagement, so it's easy to use. Even so, the engine has such authoritative power as you roll on the throttle there's not much need for shifting.

If you want to triumph over time from a standing start, you dump the clutch at 4,500 rpm, sense a bit of wheelspin from the front tires followed by a stern kick from the rears, and 60 mph comes up in 4.9 seconds. You pass through the quarter-mile in 13.3 seconds at 104.6 mph. This compares to the 420-hp Audi RS4's 4.7-second acceleration to 60 mph and its quarter-mile pass of 13.2 seconds at 106.8 mph.

Since the Audi V8 will carry this car all the way to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph, the S5 has brakes that are up to the task, and this car with its standard 17-inch discs comes to a halt from 60 mph in just 110 feet.

Traveling in a Coupe
The Audi S5's interior rejects conventional German austerity for a warm, expressive look, and everything feels wonderful. A panoramic sunroof (it tilts up, but the shape of the roof prevents it from sliding open) also brings more light into the interior.

Audi has also managed the transition to mobile electronics with far more flair and good sense than its competitors. The navigation screen is high in the dash, yet it doesn't look like someone abandoned a microwave oven up there. And the Audi MMI system continues to be the best of these systems, as the central control **** and its surrounding buttons create an interface that quickly becomes intuitive.

At $6,300 the Audi S5's optional Bang & Olufsen audio system seems like a ridiculous affectation at first, but the interior is such a nice place you'll be thinking up excuses to go out to the garage at night and listen to music.

There's a Message in Style
At the moment, official pricing for the 2008 Audi S5 has not yet been announced, though we understand $53,000 is a reasonable estimate. This would peg it to the price of a Mercedes-Benz CLK550, which the Audi S5 resembles in character far more than the $74,700 BMW 650i.

For decades, Audi has been an artistic success in America, but it's also been largely unencumbered by commercial success. It's reinvented itself over and over again, trying to find the magic fairy dust that will make people notice.

The 2008 Audi S5 will grab people by the neck and make them pay attention. It has the commanding presence of a BMW 6 Series, runs with the Audi RS4 sedan and sits there at the same price as a Mercedes CLK.

Here in America, we're simple enough to understand speed and style. The 2008 Audi S5 is a classic American coupe, ideal for a country where the distances challenge you. You know, purple mountains majesty, amber waves of grain and all that. The science nerds in Ingolstadt must take their vacations here.