OF ALL THE things that can ruin a nice drive in your brand new luxury sedan, few are as reliably cringe-inducing as failing to notice a speed bump until your front wheels make first contact. The jarring thwack and screeching scrape give way to regret and embarrassment, often underscored by spilled coffee and peeved passengers.
If you’re driving Audi’s new A8, though, you need no longer worry about such red-cheeked moments. Even if you don’t see the impending bump, one of the $84,000 sedan’s cameras will. In the space of 300 milliseconds, the car’s optional “Predictive Active Suspension” system uses electric actuators to essentially lift each wheel just as the obstacle arrives. The car itself stays level, like the torso of an Olympian flying over hurdles.
