I dunno if there is any NCAP torisional rigidity kind of testing but I believe that would show Audi's weaknesses.

One question: Does anyone know at what speed did the accident happen?

If this happend with 50km/h then it is a problem, but if it happend with 250km/h then it is pretty much possible!

That's a previous generation A8. I would like to see what a 10 year old S class or 7 series could do in an accident like this.
Probably nothing better.

Aluminium is much stronger than steel. No wonder Lamborghini , Ferrari and many other top car makers are using it for their sportscars.

D3 A8 was the most rigid car in it's class when presented a few years ago ,leaving 7 series and S class far behind. I don't know if the new S class have managed to match it though.

Yannis: its not the A8s rigidity we are questioning, its the material which's Aluminium, I've made my point clear in the rigidity thread before. I tend to believe that Aluminium is much more rigid than steele BUT it breaks after reaching its limits! while steele simply bends, got my point ? Then again, the rigidiest car posted in that thread was RR & Bentely which are purely steele with few recent models using Aluminium for door panels, hood and bootlid to save some weight.

You're both wrong! Buick and Mercury lead the pack when it comes to saving lives and making the impossible possible!

Wrong?

Audi Ranks High in IIHS Safety Study.

Are you sure?

RR Phantom has an aluminium body if i remember correctly.

Yannis yes I mentioned in my post but not entirely like the Audi A8. They use it in the body panels not the chasis as far as I know.

Trees kill.