Helsinki It belongs to the trio of German luxury sedans, is an export hit especially to China and stands for luxury and technical progress. After Mercedes has just completely renewed its S-Class and BMW has given the 7 Series fresh cell treatment, Audi will follow suit shortly before the end of the year.
The new A 8 is still 5.19 meters long and the stretched version is a good 5.30 meters. It retains its lush wheelbase of a smooth three meters (12 cm more in the long model), which is particularly beneficial for the footwell of the rear seat passengers. The sheet metal lining of the A 8, which is largely made of aluminum, was only carefully brought up to date, so that owners of the current model lose less of their value than with a completely redesigned luxury Audi. Only if you look closely can you see the fine work of the designer.
This is mainly about the cooler and the grill. The lower base of the so-called single frame, next to the four rings the Audi identification mark, has become wider. The grille is adorned with chrome-plated angles that become wider and wider towards the top. The air slots on the sides are now more upright, the headlights have been embedded more prominently in the body.
The latest version of LED matrix technology is in the light housings. Each headlight has around 1.3 million micromirrors that break the light down into tiny pixels. This makes a new function possible, which Audi calls “lane and orientation light” and which provides a new type of illumination, especially on long journeys.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The carpet of light generated by the matrix makes your own lane the sunny side of life on the motorway. This helps you to keep in lane, especially in confusing construction sites with sparse markings. The new lamps also ensure brand awareness: when unlocking or exiting the A8, the 4-ring logo is projected onto the floor or a wall. A nice gag if you want to find the gem in a fully occupied parking lot.
The interior scores with high-quality workmanship and a lot of comfort in every seat.
All in all, thanks to the new grill architecture, the front section looks bulky, in some eyes even more ostentatious than before. Perhaps that is Audi’s answer to the ever-increasing cooling air grilles from BMW. The side view is also a statement, the lower fold of which drops slightly towards the front between the wheels, making the flagship look longer. A straight chrome strip below the doors completes the overall picture.
End of the tour at the rear, which has also been slightly retouched: a strip below the continuous strip of lights emphasizes the width and is of course made of fine chrome. When it comes to the graphics of the rear lights with their OLED elements, future customers can choose from two versions, and for the S8 sports model even one more.
What is special about the tail light: In conjunction with the assistance systems, all OLED modules light up together when another car approaches less than two meters from behind and warns the driver of impending contact.
The design of the interior is more than just the icing on the cake, there is a lounge feeling, especially in the rear seats. Various seat models are on offer. If you ride in the long version at the rear right, you can look forward to an almost level lying surface thanks to the front passenger seat if you want to interrupt your file reading.
The Audi reclining seat also includes a back massage with 18 pneumatic cushions, electrically adjustable headrests or a footrest on the rear of the front passenger, which warms and massages in several stages. The finest and therefore expensive materials contribute to the comfort.
All in all, the front section looks bulky thanks to the new grill architecture.
The list of surcharges will probably resemble one of the earlier telephone books. It’s the same with the southern German rivals. The offer under the long hood is unchanged. At the start of the A8 in December, three petrol engines are available. The 3.0 TFSI with six cylinders distributes 250 kW / 340 hp to all four wheels. The four-liter eight-cylinder has 338 kW / 460 hp.
The inevitable thirst for petrol can be kept in check, as the electronics simply switch off half of the cylinders when they are not needed in everyday operation. The head of the family of the A8 clan is of course the S8 sports sedan. Thanks to the twin turbo, the engine has an output of 420 kW / 571 hp and a pulling power of a whopping 800 Newton meters.
The “forward-looking” chassis is already on board as standard. This system detects uneven roads and prepares the electronic suspension and damping for impending knocks and bumps, which are then fought specifically with an electric motor per wheel so as not to disturb the well-being of business people who are resting in the back.
If the driver selects the “comfort +” mode, additional help comes into play. When cornering between 80 and 130 km / h, the outside of the curve of the A8 is raised slightly, while the other side is lowered. The effect has the effect that the side tilt of the heavy car is barely noticeable. The super running gear is just one of a total of 40 assistants that can be ordered for the A8 or are included in one of three packages.
When it comes to the graphics of the rear lights with their OLED elements, future customers can choose from two versions.
Electronic co-drivers that warn of disaster in intersection or cross traffic, that sound the alarm if you want to open the door despite traffic from behind, that park the long car in longitudinal or transverse gaps and are controlled from the outside via an app. Behind the assistance systems in the Audi A8 there is always the central driver assistance control unit (zFAS) which, thanks to numerous sensors, constantly provides a picture of the surroundings and activates the relevant system accordingly.
As expected, the new Audi A8 is also a luxury sedan with all the achievements from the research laboratory, which then costs at least 99,500 euros or even 144,800 euros (for the S8). The next stage of expansion is a modern diesel and a plug-in hybrid on the schedule. A purely electric model is not planned. For this purpose, Audi is currently developing the similarly sized Grandsphere. It will probably not replace the A8 from around 2025, but it could well put it on the sidelines.
More: These five electric cars are the biggest power guzzlers