If you want a luxury limo that looks like it has a bit of an attitude, then this is it. If this was a bodyguard, this wouldn’t be the one with the slightly ill-fitting suit and the aggressive stance. This would be the one in a beautifully cut dark suit and tie, with the confidence and skill to look relaxed while clearly capable of drop-kicking you off the yacht.

It’s also really a bit mental. A saloon car with all the creature comforts, but which can quietly produce nearly 600bhp from under that long bonnet. In terms of 0-62mph time, you’re looking at 3.8sec which is nearly the same as the Audi R8. Yet it weighs two tonnes.

The velocity is down to the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that you’d find in the ‘normal’ S8 but then they added some ‘Plus’ in the shape of a higher redline, and more boost and other upgrades. To go with the 597bhp there is 516lb ft of torque, although on overboost you can briefly have 553lb ft. That will get you out of trouble quite quickly. And get you into it quicker still.

Because the S8 Plus does its job of keeping you away from the nasty world almost too well. It’s so hushed, so serene inside that you are barely aware of the pace you’re going. The engine is remarkably quiet, bar a refined V8 growl on full chat, yet it’s producing power by the trainload. Put simply, you need to watch the speedo as much as the road otherwise you won’t be driving this for long.

If you’re the driver – and some will be bought as chauffeur cars – then you won’t enjoy the steering as much as the rest of the experience. It’s vague and there almost seems to be a touch of lag built into the Dynamic rack. This impacts slightly on enjoyment and confidence in putting the big Audi into the corners at speed.

Handling is good, although there is body roll, and ride seems better than we remember. It’s not as good as an S-Class Mercedes-Benz but it’s not as far off as it used to be. The cabin, again, is not S-Class, but it is pretty good, with a lot of carbonfibre trim and very comfortable seating.

There’s decent space in the rear and just adequate boot space for a car like this, but actually it’s all a bit of a let-down. This is a car that is over 5m long, yet really you don’t get luxurious space in the rear, certainly not as much as you’d imagine.

The Audi S8 Plus is beautifully engineered. The engine is a total barnstormer, producing massive power incredibly smoothly through its eight-speed auto box. It’s hard to overstate just how much punch and thrust there is under the bonnet. And if you wanted, say, a Mercedes-AMG S 63, then you’d be buying a car which is half a second slower to 62mph and £30k more expensive than the Audi.

However, the relative lack of space in the rear and the less than perfect handling mean it’s hard to really recommend the S8 Plus. The other issue is that residuals for these big Audis is traditionally quite weak, so perhaps the answer is to get Jason Statham to buy one – then buy it off him in a few years when he’s taken a big hit on the car’s value.

Audi S8 Plus

Location: Surrey

On sale: Now

Price : £98,395

Engine: V8, 3993cc, twin-turbo, petrol

Power: 597bhp at 6100-6800rpm

Torque: 516lb ft at 1750-6000rpm (553lb ft at 2500-5500rpm on overboost)

0-62mph: 3.8sec

Top speed: 155mph

Gearbox: 8-spd automatic

Kerb weight: 2065kg

Economy: 28.2mpg (combined)

CO2231g/km: 37%