If you fly long-distance a few times per year like I do, you’ve probably experienced the same feeling when going through the in-flight entertainment menu. Sure, there’s plenty of movies to choose from, but somehow not many of them are very appealing. You keep on scrolling and then with some luck, you end up on one you really want to see. I have a few favourites that are usually featured: one is The Big Lebowski, which I’m sure we all agree is one of the greatest movies ever made. But when I’m in the mood for a bit more action than The Dude delivers, it’s usually the Transporter I end up with. And ideally, that would be “Transporter 2” or “3” in the series of five films.

Luc Besson’s Transporter series is certainly not on the list of “best movies ever made” with a story that is rather simple, a dialogue that is limited, and a strange connection to southern France in some of the films. In my view, two things still make it (very) worth watching. The first is of course the very cool Jason Statham with his rather convincing martial arts skills. The second is the even cooler car he drives in movies 2 and 3, the best-looking Audi A8 of all time. And given I’ve just spent two hours admiring it on my flight over the Atlantic, I figured it’s worth looking a bit closer at!

The A8 series had replaced the old Audi V8 (essentially an A6 with some luxury equipment, a different grille and a V8 engine) in 1994. It had introduced the all aluminium monocoque platform that was new to Audi at the time and helped reduce weight. As for the engines, the top version was first the S8 from 2001 after a minor facelift, and thereafter the flagship A8 W12 with the six-litre, 12 cylinder engine that essentially consisted of three four-cylinder engines in a W, making it smaller than the traditional V12 and thereby leaving enough room for Audi’s four-wheel drive system. The same engine has of course been used in a multitude of high-end cars from the VW group over the years.

In 2002, the second version of the A8 called D3 was introduced, and that’s the one that is of interest here. It looked much more modern than the first version and had taken several years to perfect, notably also since the body was made in aluminium, a material that is light but also a bit limited when it comes to bending and forming it. The final shape was however close to perfection if you ask me, and gave Audi’s luxury limo as much presence as its two natural competitors, the S-class and the 7-series. The latter was at the time designed by Chris Bangle and was no doubt the weird one. The S-class is of course the king of elegance as much then as now. But of the three, there was little doubt that the A8 was the cool one.

There’s sometimes a bit of debate as to which A8 our friend the transporter drove, the S8 or the W12. In the D3 series, the S8 was powered by a V10 that was derived from the 4.2 litre V8 and would later be used by Lamborghini in the Gallardo and the Hurracan. The W12 used the same engine as in the previous version, but now with 450 hp. Most W12 cars came in the extended version called L, making it a bit heavier and thereby a few tenths slower to 100 km/h than the S8. And yes, although the S8 would perhaps have been more appropriate, it was the W12 car that Jason Statham drove in “Transporter 2” and “3”, however in the short-wheel version.

In 2009 the D3 was replaced by its successor, unsurprisingly called D4, but a disappointment in design coolness compared to its predecessor. As for film appearances, it was only used in “The Transporter Refueled” from 2015, quite an awful movie that didn’t even feature Jason Statham anymore. In other words, one to quickly forget.

Between the D3 S8 and W12, I think the choice is quite easy. The S8 is clearly the more dynamic, and in fact a highly capable car, even by today’s standards. There’s actually quite a few enthusiasts who refer to it as the best A8 ever, and it’s easy to see why. It had a sportier suspension and larger wheels than the W12, but more importantly, it also featured ceramic brakes. The Torsen differential allowed for up to 85% of the power going to the rear wheels, making it rather playful. The optimised six-speed Tiptronic does a good job, but the real legend is of course the aluminium V10 up front, a great engine and one that the S8 as said shared with the Gallardo and the Huracan. In other words, the S8 is the four-door Lamborghini the latter never produced!

If the above isn’t convincing enough for why you do need to add an über-cool, large sedan to your collection, then the price definitely should be. You can find decent S8’s from the D3 generation for as little as EUR 15.000, with top cars going up to around EUR 30.000. In many cases, that will be a basis for negotiation but even if not, that’s very much a bargain for one of the coolest sedans of all time! You’ll want to make sure the engine has been properly serviced by an Audi garage throughout its life, and you should check those ceramic brakes carefully for any cracks. Many cars will have had them replaced with steel ones, but should you need to replace them and stay with ceramics, you’re looking at around EUR 8.000-10.000 for all four wheels.

If you still can’t resist the W12, note that they are more rare, but just as cheap, if not cheaper. Oh, and one more thing, probably unnecessary to mention but just to make sure. There is one, and only one colour the S8 can be in, and that’s black, inside and out. You’re also only allowed to drive it in a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie, carrying a few spare shirts in the boot for when you may get sweaty when fighting off all the bad guys who want to steal your S8, or your W12 for that matter. I would expect there to be many, and who can blame them?