6
NEWS
FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Audi A8 facelifted
Ingolstadt's flagship sedan is refreshed in readiness for Benz's new S-ClassAudi is pulling weight out of its A8 limousine and sticking in more power in an effort to stem the expected upsurge from Mercedes-Benz’s all-new S-Class.
The all-wheel drive Audi, which will be shown at next month’s Frankfurt motor show, is little changed visually but delivers big upgrades in its assistance systems as well as tightening its fuel consumption by up to 10 percent.
The new bits and pieces in the A8 benefit the big spenders the most, with the S8’s twin-turbo, 4.0-litre V8 gaining around 15 horsepower. This engine will deliver 320kW of power to accelerate the all-wheel drive to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, but it is also capable of shutting off four of its cylinders when cruising to improve its fuel economy.
It’s not the fastest A8 model, though, because the S8 has 380kW from essentially the same engine, punching the big four door to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds to become Audi’s de facto premium sports sedan. Its NEDC fuel consumption number of 10.1L/100km means it falls behind cars like the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and the M5 BMW, but it’s a much larger car than both of them and sits considerably higher on the price ladder.
Even that isn’t the biggest hitter of the A8 family, though, because the most expensive model will deliver a 368kW of power and tremendous torque from its twin-turbo, 6.3-litre W12 engine, which Audi is only mating to the long-wheelbase version of the A8 chassis. Audi claims its fuel economy (a not-so-impressive 11.7L/100km, or 270 grams/km of CO2) is the best in class, and this is largely through its ability to shut down six of its cylinders when it’s cruising.
The supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engine also gets a boost, with a 30 horsepower lift to 228kW of power, while the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 will have 190kW of power but uses just 5.9L/100km.
The strongest motor over on the diesel side of the fuel bowser will be the turbocharged 4.2-litre V8, which will have a flagship 850Nm of torque to back up its 283kW of power and it can come with an optional active noise cancellation system to smooth out any of the engine’s unwanted tremors. This system, which is also used on the 4.0 TFSI Quattro, the A8 L W12 and the A8 Hybrid, uses anti-phase noise, just like noise-cancelling headphones, to improve sound quality without detracting from the authentic engine note and is coupled with active engine mounts to minimise vibrations from the engine.
Audi’s push into hybrid country continues, with more power added to the A8 Hybrid so that its combination of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor now produces 180kW of power and 480Nm of torque. It combines a lithium-ion battery in the rear and the hybrid can be driven as a pure electric car for up to three kilometres. This all helps it to deliver a 6.3L/100km fuel-consumption figure.
But while Audi is pushing the light-weight cleverness of its construction, the lightest of the A8 family is the 3.0-litre TFSI and it still weighs 1830kg, which is a lot more than you’d want parked on your foot.
And that’s with an almost-all aluminium body hung off its aluminium space frame in a 5.14-metre car with a 2.99-metre wheelbase. The long-wheelbase version adds 13 centimetres to both the wheelbase and the overall length, though both the sedan and the stretch have had their boots redesigned to make loading easier.
The design of the A8, criticised for lacking any daring or pizzazz, is barely touched, with the exception of the car’s upgraded LED lighting technology.
The LED lights are standard on the V8 models, but there is an even smarter Matrix LED system available as an option. This system has 25 LEDs per light, each of which can be individually dimmed or turned off to maximise visibility without blinding oncoming traffic. It also reads the maps in the satellite navigation to predict the piece of road it needs to light up before it even gets there.
The rear LEDs have also been fiddled with and are now flatter to accentuate the A8’s width, while there are five new paint colours and the wheels keep growing up to the 21-inch maximum.
All A8s will come with an eight-speed automatic transmission, while the permanent all-wheel drive system can also be paired with an optional sport differential (standard in the S8 and the V8 TDI) to deliver drive more precisely across the back tyres.
It will still ride on adaptive air suspension as well, with electromechanical steering and the option of carbon-ceramic brakes (which seems a bit silly to us). The electrically controlled steering helps Audi to deliver new assistance systems, like active lane assist to keep the car inside a highway lane, a parking assistant and it also gets a head-up display.
It continues with its luxury interior feel, with the long-wheelbase models coming with everything from ventilated seats to a power-operated footrest.
Due on sale in November, the prices for the A8 will rise only slightly, if the German pricing is any guide, with the A8 3.0-litre retailing at €74,500.
Share this article
Written byMichael Taylor
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todaySell your car with Instant Offer™
Like trade-in but price is regularly higher
1. Get a free Instant Offer™ online in minutes2. An official local dealer will inspect your car3. Finalise the details and get paid the next business day
Get a free Instant Offer
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.