Audi A8: Wide-sweeping update for Audi's flagship

• More powerful engines, fuel consumption reductions, new assistance systems and innovative Matrix LED headlight technology

Ingolstadt, August 21, 2013 – Systematic lightweight construction, excellent comfort and a broad portfolio of high-end technologies: Audi has given its flagship, the A8, a wide-sweeping update. The engines are even more powerful and efficient, while new assistance systems and the innovative Matrix LED headlights provide for an added level of composure. The Audi updated Audi A8 will arrive in the Middle East in mid-2014. Prices and specs have not been announced yet.

The A8 L, the long-wheelbase version which will be available in the Middle East, gains an additional 13 centimeters in both length and wheelbase and features a new trunk layout for easier loading. Additional noise damping measures reduce the already low interior noise level even further. The dynamic design of the big sedan has become even more expressive. The engine hood, the Singleframe grille and the front bumper are even more sculptured; the lower edge of the headlight units is straight.

In addition to LED headlights, Audi also offers headlights featuring Matrix LED technology. The high-beam comprises 25 individual light-emitting diodes per unit that can be switched on and off or dimmed individually depending on the situation. Additional features of the new headlights are the intelligent cornering light, new-look daytime running lights and dynamic turn signals. The lighting system in the A8 uses predictive route data from the navigation system to adjust the distribution of light in response to the current driving situation.

The LED lamps at the rear of the new Audi A8 have also become flatter. The redesigned bumper houses two rhomboid tailpipes. New chrome strips, high-gloss black window frames, and five new colors round out the differentiating design details.

Audi will offer the A8 L in the Middle East market with two gasoline engines. These are the supercharged 3.0 TFSI with 310 hp, and the V8 twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI with 435 hp. The 4.0 TFSI now accelerates the A8 L from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds; the 3.0 TFSI in 5.9 seconds. The classic variants are joined by two additional models in the Middle East. The top-of-the-line model is the luxuriously equipped Audi A8 L W12 quattro with 500 hp. With 520 hp, the S8 is Audi's big sports sedan. Its sonorous 4.0 TFSI accelerates the S8 from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. Fuel consumption is reduced through the use of the Audi cylinder on demand (COD) system, which deactivates four of the eight cylinders of the V8 and six cylinders of the W12 under partial load. Friction-reducing measures reduce consumption by as much as 10 percent. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) ensures excellent acoustic comfort.

The new A8 comes standard with a fast and smooth-shifting, eight-speed tiptronic paired with quattro permanent all-wheel drive. Audi also offers an optional sport differential, which distributes the power between the rear wheels as needed.

The interior of the Audi flagship dazzles with its elegant lines and generous spaciousness. The first-class solution is the relaxation seat with power footrest. A large number of additional features are also available, from power-assisted closing to a cooler. All components in the new A8 have been carefully chosen and lovingly executed to achieve the hand-built character of the interior. A new range of choices for seat coverings, inlays and colors is available. The Audi design selection offers a preselection of exclusive materials and colors for the interior, including sycamore gray/marble gray. The Audi exclusive range offers additional individualization options for particularly discerning customers.

As is typical for Audi, the new A8 features exemplarily clear controls despite the abundance of functions. New in the A8 are Audi active lane assist, which makes slight steering adjustments when necessary, and the park assist system with 360° display, which handles steering when parking. The new head-up display projects important data in the driver's field of vision on the windshield. The night vision assistant can now also recognize larger animals in addition to pedestrians.
Long version

Systematic lightweight construction, excellent comfort and a broad portfolio of high-end technologies: Audi has given its flagship, the A8, a wide-sweeping update. The engines are even more powerful and efficient, while new assistance systems and the innovative Matrix LED headlights provide for an added level of composure. The Audi updated Audi A8 L will arrive in the Middle East in mid-2014. Prices and specs have not been announced yet.

The new A8 places Audi among the innovation leaders in the luxury segment. One great strength of the big sedan is its lightweight construction. The Audi A8 3.0 TFSI with the normal wheelbase (not planned for the Middle East) has a curb weight of just 1,830 kilograms – best-in-class for models with all-wheel drive. The body is made almost entirely of aluminum; an Audi Space Frame (ASF) design, it weighs just 231 kilograms.

Length (5.14 meters), wheelbase (2.99 meters), width (1.95 meters) and height (1.46 meters) remain unchanged, making the Audi A8 (normal-wheelbase not planned for the Middle East) the sportiest sedan in the segment. The A8 L gains an additional 13 centimeters in both length and wheelbase. Both body variants feature a new trunk layout for easier loading. Additional noise damping measures reduce the already low interior noise level even further.

The dynamic design of the big sedan has become even more expressive. The engine hood, the Singleframe grille and the front bumper are even more sculptured; the lower edge of the headlight units is straight. In addition to LED headlights, Audi also offers headlights featuring Matrix LED technology, which sets new benchmarks with respect to design and technology. With these headlights, the high-beam comprises 25 individual light-emitting diodes per unit that can be switched on and off or dimmed individually depending on the situation.

This enables the headlight system to react extremely precisely to other vehicles while always brightly illuminating the road. Additional features of the new headlights are the intelligent cornering light, new-look daytime running lights and dynamic turn signals. The lighting system in the A8 uses predictive route data from the navigation system to adjust the distribution of light in response to the current driving situation. In combination with the Navigation plus with MMI touch, the system recognizes route data contained in the navigation system, such as curves and road classifications.

The LED lamps at the rear of the new Audi A8 have also become flatter. In all models except the S8, the redesigned bumper houses two rhomboid tailpipes. New chrome strips and high-gloss black window frames round out the differentiating design details. There is a choice of twelve colors, including five new ones. Wheels are available in sizes up to 21 inches.

The engines: more power and efficiency

Audi will produce the A8 with two gasoline and two diesel engines. These are the supercharged 3.0 TFSI with 310 hp, the V8 twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI with 435 hp, the highly efficient 3.0 TDI clean diesel with 258 hp (not planned for the Middle East) and the extremely high-torque 4.2 TDI clean diesel, which produces 385 hp and 850 Nm (not planned for the Middle East). 

Performance has increased with most engines. When paired with quattro all-wheel drive, the 4.0 TFSI now accelerates the A8 from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. Under partial load, the Audi cylinder on demand (COD) system deactivates four of the eight cylinders. The most efficient engine is the 3.0 TDI clean diesel, which consumes just 5.9 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, which corresponds to 155 grams CO2 per kilometer. All engines satisfy the Euro 6 standard. Friction-reducing measures reduce consumption by as much as 10 percent.

The classic variants are joined by three additional models. The top-of-the-line model is the luxuriously equipped Audi A8 L W12 quattro. Its gasoline engine is particularly short and lightweight thanks to its W layout. Displacing 6.3 liters, it produces 500 hp. It also boasts best-in-class fuel consumption of 11.7 liters per 100 kilometers, corresponding to 270 grams CO2 per kilometer. It also has a COD system that was designed specifically for it. At low load, it deactivates the fuel injection and ignition for six cylinders. The available Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) ensures excellent acoustic comfort.

With 520 hp, the S8 is Audi's big sports sedan. Paired with quattro all-wheel drive, its sonorous 4.0 TFSI accelerates the S8 from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. Average fuel consumption for the S8 is just 10.1 liters per 100 kilometers, corresponding to 235 grams CO2 per kilometer. The COD system plays a key role here, too. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), a technology that is also used in the A8 4.0 TFSI quattro, the A8 L W12 quattro and the A8 hybrid (not planned for the Middle East), uses precise antiphase noise to compensate for intrusive noise in the cabin while operating on four cylinders while active engine mounts dampen vibration. The chassis and many body details reflect the sporty positioning of the S8.

The Audi A8 hybrid (not planned for the Middle East) combines a 2.0 TFSI and electric motor to produce a system output of 245 hp and system torque of 480 Nm. The engine's power flows to the front wheels via a modified tiptronic. The lithium-ion battery in the rear enables purely electric driving at up to 100 km/h with a range of roughly three kilometers. The A8 hybrid consumes on average just 6.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers and produces 147 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

The new A8 comes standard with a fast and smooth-shifting, eight-speed tiptronic. The electronically controlled automatic transmission is paired with quattro permanent all-wheel drive. Audi also offers an optional sport differential for the rear axle, which distributes the power between the rear wheels as needed. The sport differential is standard in the S8 and the A8 4.2 TDI clean diesel quattro (not planned for the Middle East).

The sedan owes its sporty character in large part to the sophisticated chassis. The Audi drive select system, which varies the function of various technology modules, is standard. It also controls the adaptive air suspension with adaptive damping. Audi offers the air suspension with a sporty setup upon request. The power steering uses an efficient electromechanical drive. Dynamic steering varies boost as a function of the speed driven. Carbon fiber ceramic brake discs are available for V8 models and the A8 L W12 quattro.

Another option is for 9 J x 20 aluminum-technology wheels which are based on forged support wheels. A special process joins the support wheel to a ten-spoke design element of high-strength polymer.

Hand-built character: The interior of the Audi A8

The interior of the Audi flagship dazzles with its elegant lines and generous spaciousness. Options for the front seats include ventilation and massage. Electrically adjustable, individual rear seats are available as an option for the A8 and the A8 L. The A8 L is also available with a continuous, leather-covered center console. The first-class solution here is the relaxation seat with power footrest. A large number of additional features are also available, from power-assisted closing to a cooler.

All components in the new A8 have been carefully chosen and processed with the utmost precision. Each of the lovingly executed details documents the hand-built character of the interior. A new range of choices for seat coverings, inlays and colors is available in many areas. New additions include the woods Fine grain poplar brown-silver and Fine grain ash brown-gold natural as well as the leather Unikat, which is particularly natural-looking, soft and breathable.

The Audi design selection offers a preselection of exclusive materials and colors for the interior, including sycamore gray/marble gray. The design selection black/vermont brown with Carbon twill copper inlays is available for the Audi S8. The Audi exclusive range offers additional individualization options for particularly discerning customers.

As is typical for Audi, the new A8 features exemplarily clear controls despite the abundance of functions. Taking center stage is the MMI control element on the tunnel's center console. MMI navigation plus also includes a touchpad. The driver draws characters on the pad (MMI touch) to control numerous navigation and multimedia functions.

For more composed driving: the assistance systems

Driving is even more composed with the assistance systems. The adaptive cruise control with Stop&Go function is coupled with an expanded version of the standard Audi pre sense basic safety system. The same applies to Audi side assist. New in the A8 are Audi active lane assist, which makes slight steering adjustments when necessary, and the park assist system with 360° display, which handles steering when parking. The head-up display, which is also new, projects important data in the driver's field of vision on the windshield. The night vision assistant can now also recognize larger animals in addition to pedestrians.
 
Audi connect including car phone is available as a supplement to MMI navigation plus. It uses an integrated UMTS module to connect the new A8 to the Internet. Passengers can surf and e-mail freely via a WLAN hotspot. For the driver, the system delivers the tailored online services from Audi connect to the car, such as online traffic information, Google Street View, online news (not available in the Middle East), and Google Earth. The multimedia highlight is the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. The Rear Seat Entertainment system includes two displays, Bluetooth headphones and a DVD player.