Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
For the first time ever, the 2018 Audi A8 has been spied in production-ready form. Confirmed to debut in 2017, the fourth generation of the sedan draws inspiration for the design from the Prologue concepts.
The concept looks are complemented by aesthetic details that debuted on the Audi A4 (B9). As an all-round effort, the next generation of the A8 shapes up to be a more slender car than the current A8.
Underneath the swirly camouflage that hides the redesigned exterior, Audi employs the MLB evo architecture. More colloquially known as MLB 2, the modular longitudinal platform is also used by the Audi Q7, Audi A4, Bentley Bentayga, and Volkswagen Phideon. An 8-speed automatic will row gears for an assortment of TDI and TFSI powerplants displacing from 3.0 to 6.0 liters. A duo of e-tron plug-in hybrid variants are also expected to get the green light.
Better still, the all-new Audi A8 will shed a lot of weight compared to the model it replaces. Furthermore, Audi has confirmed that the next-gen A8 prides itself on level three autonomous driving technology. In other words, the full-size sedan will be able to steer, accelerate, decelerate, and brake to a halt all by itself.
Chief executive officer Rupert Stadler made it official that the 2018 model year Audi A8 is bound to arrive in 2017, probably in Geneva. If we’re lucky, production will start in the fall, which means we’re a little over a year away from getting behind the wheel of the long-awaited German sedan. An A8 L is also in the works.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer’s electric efforts. The make-or-break product Audi will launch by the end of the decade is the Q6 e-tron, the first all-electric sport utility vehicle in the brand’s history. Expect the Q6 to start production sometime in 2018 at the Audi Brussels plant in Belgium.
Underneath the swirly camouflage that hides the redesigned exterior, Audi employs the MLB evo architecture. More colloquially known as MLB 2, the modular longitudinal platform is also used by the Audi Q7, Audi A4, Bentley Bentayga, and Volkswagen Phideon. An 8-speed automatic will row gears for an assortment of TDI and TFSI powerplants displacing from 3.0 to 6.0 liters. A duo of e-tron plug-in hybrid variants are also expected to get the green light.
Better still, the all-new Audi A8 will shed a lot of weight compared to the model it replaces. Furthermore, Audi has confirmed that the next-gen A8 prides itself on level three autonomous driving technology. In other words, the full-size sedan will be able to steer, accelerate, decelerate, and brake to a halt all by itself.
Chief executive officer Rupert Stadler made it official that the 2018 model year Audi A8 is bound to arrive in 2017, probably in Geneva. If we’re lucky, production will start in the fall, which means we’re a little over a year away from getting behind the wheel of the long-awaited German sedan. An A8 L is also in the works.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer’s electric efforts. The make-or-break product Audi will launch by the end of the decade is the Q6 e-tron, the first all-electric sport utility vehicle in the brand’s history. Expect the Q6 to start production sometime in 2018 at the Audi Brussels plant in Belgium.
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