The US Tiptronic is widely seen as sluggish, so 6-speed conversions (B5 S4 01E gearbox and related parts) are popular and dramatically wake the car up. A swapped car can be the most desirable version — but confirm the conversion was done properly (synchros, clutch hydraulics, driveshaft, ECU) by a known Audi manual specialist.
Manual swaps transform it — verify the conversion
Audi S8 (D2) · buying-advice