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Audi Says 2018 A8 Can Coast At 100 MPH Thanks To 48V Mild-Hybrid Setup

Audi has revealed more of the 2018 A8’s technical configuration, and the company has confirmed the car will get a 48-Volt mild-hybrid setup as standard.
Audi A8's mild-hybrid 48-Volt drivetrain 1 photo
Photo: Audi
The system is meant to help the driver save fuel, while also reducing emissions for each drive. The latter is more important than saving gas or diesel, and Audi is taking necessary steps in the direction that will be the norm in a few years for most of the automobiles available on the market.

Audi’s 2018 A8 comes with two starters, which may seem strange, but makes sense: a conventional pinion starter is only used for cold starts, while a 48-Volt water-cooled Belt Alternator Starter (BAS) turns the engine back on the rest of the time.

The hybrid setup also includes a 10 Ah battery in the trunk, which operates on the higher voltage to enable the operation of the 48V BAS described above.

Unlike a regular mild-hybrid, the car can coast at higher speeds, and the internal combustion motor can start quicker, and without any perceivable vibrations or distinct sounds.

Audi says that the difference is best seen when approaching a line of traffic. The A8’s engine will be shut down as the vehicle coasts to what may be a stop, but the driver may see a gap, and pressing the gas will turn the motor back on, and then he or she will be able to drive as if the ICE had not been shut down.

The start-stop operation of the engine can happen at speeds of up to 13.7 mph (22 km/h), while coasting is possible at speeds between 34.2 and 99.4 mph (55-160 km/h).

Driving an A8 at 160 km/h with the engine turned off might seem insane, but all the vehicle's systems will work as if the ICE was running, and it only happens for up to 40 seconds at a time.

The upcoming A8 also has a system that can see if the car in front of it in the line of traffic has moved, which means that it will need to restart the engine to allow the driver to move swiftly. Its makers call the function “predictive convenient starting.”

According to Audi, the new system saves up to 0.7 liters of fuel every 100 kilometers (0.2 US gallons for every 62.1 miles). The best bit is that the driver does not have to drive differently to benefit from the fuel savings and emission reduction. The four-ringed brand will reveal the 2018 A8 at the Audi Summit, held in Barcelona on July 11.
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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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