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2018 Audi A8 Spied During Winter Testing, It's Still Covered In Camouflage

Audi’s flagship sedan, the A8, is preparing to receive a new generation, which will bear the D5 codename.
2018 Audi A8 13 photos
Photo: CarPix
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The prototype of the next A8 has been spied by our photographers in many sceneries, and the time has come for it to be recognized in winter conditions.

Audi has chosen Sweden’s snowy roads to put the 2018 A8 to the test, and it appears that the flagship is being analyzed within a convoy, which probably consisted of several engine versions of this model.

Audi’s design department was apparently inspired by the Prologue Concept, shown in 2014, for the look of the next A8, which will feature an evolution of the single frame grille. In spite of the camouflage, you can still observe its size, which has grown in comparison to the one on the ongoing model.

Meanwhile, the body itself does not seem larger than the current A8’s, but this car was already the biggest sedan in Audi’s portfolio, so no changes of that sort were needed or expected.

Audi’s D5 A8 is built on the MLB Evo platform, which is also referred as MLB 2. It was first launched in the ongoing Audi Q7, and it brought a reduction in weight and fuel consumption, while the performance of the car was improved in several areas. The next A8 is expected to come with a similar line of engines, but it will also have a plug-in hybrid version.

It is believed that the fourth generation of the Audi A8 will get an all-electric version. The said variant could be launched a few years after the debut of the regular model, which is expected by many to be unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The next A8 is supposed to come with technology that could enable it to be a fully-autonomous vehicle, and rumors say that the German company has completely changed the interior of this car. In the case of the latter, the next A8 is expected to ditch many buttons, which are supposed to be replaced by touchscreen controls with haptic feedback.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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