One of the biggest differences between New York and Los Angeles is the accessibility of the famous. In Manhattan, there aren’t gated estates and sprawling freeways. For the right price, you could share a building with Howard Stern or Donald Trump. People tend to walk through their neighborhoods, so you never know who might be around the next corner with their dog or their groceries, just waiting for your sparkling conversational gambit.
However, here in Los Angeles, everything is spread out. Cars are nearly mandatory, and there are countless numbers who lease an apartment and drive an expensive car. While you can’t afford to live next to the Beckhams, you can burn down the Pacific Coast Highway in automotive bliss and pretend that you do.
Proving that Heidi Klum and Claudia Schiffer may not be the most beautiful German exports, the new Audi A8 delivers everything you need to feel like a celebrity.
The standard A8 can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, and the A8L can easily escape the chasing paparazzi with its 500 horsepower W12 FSI engine that can reach 60 mph in a face-mashing 4.9 seconds.
The A8L also offers some additional features to the rear seating, including dual 10-inch screens, navigation and music controls, a refrigerator, and two fully adjustable seats, including a footrest behind the passenger seat. Enjoy an adult beverage while your driver (or roommate) navigates Mulholland Drive and you look over the star map spread across the console’s integrated table.
There’s a solar sunroof, which uses solar panels beneath the glass to create a stream of fresh air inside the cabin even when the engine is off. This can reduce interior temperatures by up to 50 percent so that you feel refreshed on warm days and focus on other, more important details. Such as the front seat massage functions (standard on the A8L and optional on the A8). Your name may not be in lights on the Sunset Strip, but you won’t be particularly bothered as you receive a massage while driving past the Viper Room.
The navigation screen pops out of the dashboard as you turn the car on, and you can pretty much do everything from there except update your Twitter feed.
The MMI touch interface will recognize your handwriting to control navigation destinations, allow you to dial the phone, and manipulate the car’s options. You can choose the ride quality, the height of the car from the ground, and select the amount of assistance that the car provides. This Deutsch wunderkind can detect pedestrians and animals through a front-mounted infrared camera, providing a warning if they cross the path of the car. It will also warn you if you’ve moved out of your lane, or if another vehicle lurks in your blind spots.
Other options include wireless Internet access for passengers and a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system that is likely better than the one in your house.
So for around $80,000, you too can bid auf wiedersehen to the commoners and improve your reputation among those you choose to bring along for the ride.
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