Photo: Audi AG
It's not easy to compete in the luxury car segment, especially when you've been trying to usurp the S-Class and 7 Series establishment for a little under three decades.
Audi keeps trying, though, and today it finally unveiled the 2018 Audi A8 D5, the fourth generation of its flagship luxury sedan, after numerous teasers.
Poised to offer the most advanced technology in its segment, the all-new A8 comes packed with innovative features that range from semi-autonomous driving to an integrated foot massager and a body that raises itself while bracing for a side impact.
Looks wise it's definitely more of the same, but modernized, despite Audi continuously threatening us with a paradigm shift in the carmaker's design language for the past couple of years.
That said, there has been a design revolution, but only on the inside, where most controls are now of the touchscreen variety, with haptic feedback. Speaking of the interior, the A8 L, which will only be available with the 6.0-liter W12 engine in the beginning, gets a nose-high-in-the-air feature designed exclusively for the right-rear passengers.
Apart from offering more legroom by tilting forward, the front passenger seat can incorporate a foot massage feature for the passenger in the back, who can already be massaged by his/her seat.
Called Audi AI, the car's traffic jam pilot is technically a Level 3 autonomous system that can manage the vehicle's acceleration, braking, and steering on its own in slow-moving traffic. The new A8 can drive itself at up to 60 km/h (37.3 mph), but only on freeways or highways that have a physical barrier between the two roadways.
The Audi AI also includes remote parking pilot, which is a system similar to what you can find on a Mercedes-Benz E-Class W213 or the recently facelifted S-Class. In short, the driver can use the new myAudi app on his/her smartphone and simply monitor the car parking on its own.
Again a technology that first appeared on the S-Class, the 2018 Audi A8's suspension has an optional feature that makes it entirely active and sometimes even pro-active. By using a camera and “reading” the road ahead, the suspension can pre-tense or de-tense itself even before hitting a bump.
Thanks to a standard 48-volt electrical system, the suspension can also raise or lower each wheel with electric actuators almost instantly, which gives the A8 D5 another interesting feature, this time related to passive safety. In the event of an imminent side collision, the car's body is raised almost instantly so that the passengers are better protected by the harder parts of the chassis, such as the floor.
On the powerplant front, there aren't that many novelties, but most engines do get a bit more power and are more efficient compared to the A8 D4, also thanks mostly to the standard 48-volt electrical system. At the beginning of sales, there will be five engines, only two of which being diesels.
The base model uses a 3.0 TFSI V6 with 340 hp, while the 3.0 TDI develops 286 hp. Regarding V8 power, the new A8 will come with the choice of either 435 hp 4.0 TDI, which is the same engine as the one found in the Audi SQ7, while a new 4.0 TFSI with 460 will arrive slightly after the car goes on sale. Until the new S8 is unveiled, the most powerful mill will be the 6.0 W12, available in A8 L guise only.
As expected, all engines are mild-hybrid, with a plug-in hybrid version of the 3.0 TFSI to be launched in early 2018. With 449 hp and 700 Nm (516.3 lb-ft) of torque on tap, the A8 plug-in hybrid will also offer about 50 km (31.1 miles) of electric range.
Built at Audi's pride and joy, the Neckarsulm plant, the A8 D5 will first go on sale on the German market in late fall 2017, with a starting price of 90,600 euros for the regular model and 94,100 euros for the longer A8 L version.
Poised to offer the most advanced technology in its segment, the all-new A8 comes packed with innovative features that range from semi-autonomous driving to an integrated foot massager and a body that raises itself while bracing for a side impact.
Looks wise it's definitely more of the same, but modernized, despite Audi continuously threatening us with a paradigm shift in the carmaker's design language for the past couple of years.
That said, there has been a design revolution, but only on the inside, where most controls are now of the touchscreen variety, with haptic feedback. Speaking of the interior, the A8 L, which will only be available with the 6.0-liter W12 engine in the beginning, gets a nose-high-in-the-air feature designed exclusively for the right-rear passengers.
Apart from offering more legroom by tilting forward, the front passenger seat can incorporate a foot massage feature for the passenger in the back, who can already be massaged by his/her seat.
Called Audi AI, the car's traffic jam pilot is technically a Level 3 autonomous system that can manage the vehicle's acceleration, braking, and steering on its own in slow-moving traffic. The new A8 can drive itself at up to 60 km/h (37.3 mph), but only on freeways or highways that have a physical barrier between the two roadways.
The Audi AI also includes remote parking pilot, which is a system similar to what you can find on a Mercedes-Benz E-Class W213 or the recently facelifted S-Class. In short, the driver can use the new myAudi app on his/her smartphone and simply monitor the car parking on its own.
Again a technology that first appeared on the S-Class, the 2018 Audi A8's suspension has an optional feature that makes it entirely active and sometimes even pro-active. By using a camera and “reading” the road ahead, the suspension can pre-tense or de-tense itself even before hitting a bump.
Thanks to a standard 48-volt electrical system, the suspension can also raise or lower each wheel with electric actuators almost instantly, which gives the A8 D5 another interesting feature, this time related to passive safety. In the event of an imminent side collision, the car's body is raised almost instantly so that the passengers are better protected by the harder parts of the chassis, such as the floor.
On the powerplant front, there aren't that many novelties, but most engines do get a bit more power and are more efficient compared to the A8 D4, also thanks mostly to the standard 48-volt electrical system. At the beginning of sales, there will be five engines, only two of which being diesels.
The base model uses a 3.0 TFSI V6 with 340 hp, while the 3.0 TDI develops 286 hp. Regarding V8 power, the new A8 will come with the choice of either 435 hp 4.0 TDI, which is the same engine as the one found in the Audi SQ7, while a new 4.0 TFSI with 460 will arrive slightly after the car goes on sale. Until the new S8 is unveiled, the most powerful mill will be the 6.0 W12, available in A8 L guise only.
As expected, all engines are mild-hybrid, with a plug-in hybrid version of the 3.0 TFSI to be launched in early 2018. With 449 hp and 700 Nm (516.3 lb-ft) of torque on tap, the A8 plug-in hybrid will also offer about 50 km (31.1 miles) of electric range.
Built at Audi's pride and joy, the Neckarsulm plant, the A8 D5 will first go on sale on the German market in late fall 2017, with a starting price of 90,600 euros for the regular model and 94,100 euros for the longer A8 L version.
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