New A8 to join S, 7 club?

Australian buyers will need almost a quarter of a million dollars to get their hands on Audi's new technological tour de force, the A8 flagship.

Priced from $225,904 for the 4.2 FSI model (before on-road costs are added), it's a marked increase over the $206,600 price tag of the previous Audi A8, but the German marque asserts that upgraded standard features more than offset the cost increase.

Boasting a new touch screen MMI system with advanced handwriting recognition, an eight-speed gearbox, 22-way electrically adjustable front seats, an integrated digital TV, 60Gb hard drive and 19-inch wheels as standard, Audi expects to sell around 150 fourth generation A8s per annum -- nearly double the current 80 or so it sells every year at present.

"We don't want sell the cars at any price. We want to sell the cars the right way and attract the right people," says Immo Buschmann, Audi Australia's marketing GM.

The first Audi A8 deliveries will begin in September, and only one model will be offered for the time being, the A8 4.2 FSI. It is powered by a direct injection petrol V8 that produces 273kW/445Nm, representing slight increases on the previous model. It's also slightly quicker off the mark.

Audi's flagship model is also 13 per cent more efficient, with a claimed average fuel economy of 9.5L/100km. An even more efficient model will follow in November, the 3.0 TDI turbodiesel model. Long wheel-base and turbodiesel V8 models are also expected in 2011.

The big question for Audi's magnum opus will be whether it can compete with segment leaders, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series, in terms of sales outcomes. Traditionally the Audi A8 has played second fiddle to its Germanic rivals.

Buschmann told the Carsales Network he was confident the new 'D4' A8, as it's known internally, has the chutzpah to challenge the 7 Series and S-Class in terms of sales in Australia.

"We've done our homework in the past couple of years, and now we have a foundation to authentically market a car like this. The D4 has a much bigger chance of success than the D3 had at [the] time when it came."

Along with a list of high tech gadgetry, Audi expects a few BMW and Benz buyers to defect when they see the hand-crafted interior, the conservative new exterior style and the quattro AWD driveline.

"The A8 is already outselling the BMW 7 Series in Germany, while S-Class is still the benchmark in that sense. We're very strong in European markets.

"We are targetting the 7 Series and S-Class ... What we're doing with this vehicle is to convince the S-Class and 7 Series buyer to maybe reconsider. He might not have joined the Audi brand before because he wasn't very convinced we had a strong proposition in this segment. With this vehicle I believe we do.

"Ultimately, yes, I strongly believe this vehicle has a chance, if we do everything right, to be a true competitor in sales figures in Australia (to 7 Series and S-Class)," added Buschmann.

Stay tuned for our full road test of Audi's new super sedan to see how it really stacks up.

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