Audi Reveals Refreshed A8 Range With Sharper Styling And New Tech
Audi has revealed the refreshed A8 range that it says has a sharper design, notably in the front and rear of the vehicle. The range is also fitted with innovative technologies. Audi says the new styling and technology give the range a confident and progressive character for an active luxury sedan. The A8 has been part of the Audi range since 1994.
The automaker promises the new A8 delivers an improved design and established technology and comfort for rearseat passengers. The exterior was revised to give the vehicle more confidence and a more athletic appearance. It has a wider Singleframe grille that has chrome angles increasing from bottom to top along its grid. A8 also has side air intakes that are more upright and restyled to match the headlights, which feature a lower edge to provide a more distinctive contour.
In all versions of the A8, the rocker panel area has a concave shape, and the blade points towards the road. Also sliding into the range is the Audi S8 performance version that has additional sporty design details. A8 buyers can also opt for a new S line exterior package. That package gives more dynamic styling to the front differentiated from the base model. It has distinctive blades near the side air intakes that look similar to those used on the S8.
Audi will offer A8 buyers a choice of 11 colors, including a new color called metallic district green, firmament blue, Manhattan gray, and ultra-blue. Five matte finishes are also available, including Daytona gray, floret silver, District Green, terra gray, and glacier white. However, buyers can choose any color they want if they choose to utilize the Audi exclusive program.
The wheelbase for the A8 is 9.8 feet long, giving the vehicle an overall length of 17 feet and a width of 6.4 feet. The vehicle is 4.8 feet high. Audi notes that the S8 is about one centimeter longer. All A8 vehicles utilize the Audi Space Frame using 58 percent aluminum parts. High-quality headlights utilize digital matrix LED in the front and OLED technology for taillights. Each headlight has about 1.3 million micro-mirrors that break the light into tiny pixels allowing maximum precision and control.
One of the more interesting headlight modes is a function that emits a carpet of light illuminating the driver's lane brightly. The digital OLED rear lights are standard, but there are two very light signatures to choose from, with the S8 offering an additional choice. Buyers who choose the dynamic Audi Drive select mode get lights with a wider signature only available in that mode.
The interior was designed to be spacious, providing an open feel. It has a horizontal orientation that emphasizes width, and some versions get the ambient light package featuring matrix LED technology. Multiple seating options are available, particularly for the rearseat occupants. In the longer A8 L, rear seats offer multiple adjustment options and a footrest on the back of the passenger seat. Rear passengers can also have the bottom of their feet warmed and massaged using the relaxation seat package.
That seat package includes a back massage with 18 pneumatic cushions and electrically adjustable comfort headrests. A8 L buyers can also choose a continuous center console with optional foldout tables, four-zone deluxe automatic air conditioning, and screens for rear passengers. Audi offers about 40 different driver assistance systems, with some being standard equipment and others clustered into Park, City, and Tour packages. The Park package has a remote parking assist capability helping to parallel park.
The City package has intersection assist, cross-traffic assist, side assist, exit warning, and the Audi presets 360-degree safety system. The Tour package is standard in Germany and features central adaptive cruise assist and more. Three different engines are available, including a 3.0 TFSI engine with an available 4.0 TFSI V8 engine in both the A8 and S8. The A8 55 TFSI quattro utilizes the 3.0-liter engine, which produces 340 PS. In China, a version producing 286 PS is available.
The 4.0-liter engine generates 460 PS and 660 Nm of torque. In the S8, the V8 uses biturbos to produce 571 PS and 800 Nm of torque. It's able to reach 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The base price for the A8 begins at €99,500, and it will be available in Europe in December. The Audi S8 starts at €144,800.