Audi is preparing the 2018 A8, which will be assigned the D5 codename. It is the brand’s flagship sedan, so expectations are set to the highest level.
The engineers of the Ingolstadt marque have been spotted by our spy photographers while they were driving on a secluded road in Sweden. The convoy had the benefit of a closed trail, which it was using to its full extent thanks to carefully placed officials guarding the intersections.
This is not the first time when Audi engineers use a convoy to test their vehicles, and this might happen because several versions are being assessed at the same time.
The upcoming A8 is based on the MLB Evo platform, which was launched on the 2017 Audi Q7 and A4 models. While it may seem unusual to fit the same technical base for cars that have different sizes, the German corporation chose this option because it means sharing components while having a modular base that can accommodate different sizes.
A shared platform lowers development costs for its creators, while also providing the best possible solutions for the models that get them. Thanks to MLB Evo, Audi will be able to offer a lighter A8, which will have improved handling and fuel economy thanks to losing weight.
Rumors say Audi will fit the next-gen A8 with enough technology to enable it to drive itself, but legislation will have to be changed to allow that to happen from the factory. Another thing to expect on the next A8 is an interior with fewer buttons, which will use gesture controls and touch screens to replace traditional buttons.
Audi will offer the A8 with similar engines to the ones found in the Q7 range. Expect a plug-in hybrid model in the range shortly after the regular versions are introduced.
As usual, the Germans will offer an S8 performance version, but it will come at a later date. Unlike its predecessors, the D5 A8 is expected to get an electric version sometime in its future.
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. Full profile
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