The first official A8OC meet took place at an airfield near Lutterworth  on 7th June 2009.

In attendance were 28 cars including 25 Audi A8/S8 models, a C5 RS6, A C5 A6, and an Audi TT. This number was more than twice the attendance at last years A8/S8 meet at Billing Aquadrome.

The turnout included:
14 S8’s (only one of which was a D3 model)
11 A8’s (two D3’s, and 2 2.8 v6) including a stripped out trackday car

Of all the cars, one in particular drew the attention of the crowds. A Kingfisher blue, LHD Audi S8, with a 6-speed manual gearbox. The manual wasn’t an option in the UK, so there was plenty of drooling going on! The D3 S8 also drew crowds, not only because it’s such a gorgeous car, but because it’s owned by one of our more electronically minded modders. A guy who’s managed to add more techie gadgets to his car than Audi have in their catalogue.

One of the most popular modifications amongst the ‘8 owners are custom exhausts, and these are proving more and more popular as the months go by. Whilst some went for off-the-shelf Millteks, others opted for custom built stainless quad-pipe monsters...although some of these monsters were perhaps a little more muted than their owners hoped!

Alloy wheels are also popular, and whilst there are the usual plethora of OEM wheels, there were 3 cars that sported something a little different. There was Tony’s A8 with Lorinser (Mercedes) wheels, James’ S8 with unknown wheels, and Darrens S8 with 19” BBS LM’s.

The colours and modifications made each car different. So much so that there was enough variety to keep even the most hardcore A8 enthusiast entertained for the full day.

Whilst the turnout was impressive, the distances travelled by some of the members was even more so. Two members made the trek down from Scotland, and one guy came across from Ireland via Germany, after visiting ZF to sort out a gearbox issue. But even within the English borders we had guys coming from York, Leeds, and Plymouth too. We even had a guy from Germany come across, although unfortunately without his car as it decided to throw it’s teddy out of the pram only 2 weeks beforehand!!
Plans for the meet next year, are already underway, with the promise of far more activities, and it being held over the full weekend rather than just on the Sunday. With a bit of luck we’ll increase the numbers again, and have an even more impressive turnout than this year.

Photos can be seen here and there are some videos over here