The bad news first: The “new” Audi A8, which is celebrating its premiere today and will then be shown at the IAA in September, is not a new A8 - but a thorough facelift. A completely new A8 will probably only be seen at the IAA 2015. Until then, the update must be sufficient to compete against the stronger competitors (for example, the new S-Class) to pass.

Now the good news: Audi has stretched itself out to sharpen the character of the A8.

Audi A8 - S8 - W12 - Hybrid and TDI

Important for the Chinese market in particular: The Audi A8 L is 13 centimeters longer. All other models remain exactly as long as before: 5.14 meters.

In addition to the cosmetic work on the face of the A8, the new LED headlights stand out in particular. Unlike its competitors, however, Audi only supplies LED technology in series production from V8 engines. LED matrix headlights are optionally available. Here the high beam in each headlight is divided into 21 individual light-emitting diodes. As a result, the Audi A8 has the most modern light source at the front, which, among other things, allows several individual vehicles in oncoming traffic to be cut out of its own high beam. Perfect light without dazzling oncoming traffic.

This means that the headlamp system can react to other vehicles with high precision while always illuminating the road brightly. Further features of the new headlamps are the intelligent cornering light, the daytime running light with a new look and the flashing light with a dynamic display. The lighting system in the A8 works navigation-based and reacts to the respective driving situation by influencing the light distribution of the headlights through predictive route data. In conjunction with the optional navigation plus with MMI touch, the route data contained in the navigation system, such as curves or road classifications, are detected.

The LED lights have also become flatter at the rear of the new Audi A8. Newly drawn bumpers on all engines (except for the S8) include two diamond-shaped tailpipes. New chrome trim and high-gloss black window frames round off the differences in design. Twelve paint colors, including five new ones, are available; the range of wheels goes up to 21 inches.

motor selection

In addition to the exclusive Audi A8 W12, which will only be available in the long “L variant”, the sporty Audi S3 and the “hybrid” that will probably roll off the assembly line in a homeopathic dose, there are two petrol engines and two diesel engines that will drive the A8.

The 3.0 TFSI with compressor is a 310 hp V6 petrol engine. The V8 Bi-Turbo TFSI has 4 liters and 435 hp. The 3.0 V6 TDI clean diesel with 258 hp is the basis for the diesel, and there is also a V8 diesel engine with 4.2 liter displacement - 385 hp and 850 Nm power!

Audi A8 W12

The extravagant 6,3 liter W engine with 12 cylinders and 500 hp is the most luxurious power source in the Audi flagship. At Audi he was also taught to turn off 6 of his 12 cylinders using “Cylinder on demand”. So you want to achieve a consumption of just 11.7 liters per 100 kilometers! In addition, an “Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)” system works to ensure complete silence in the twelve-wheel.

Audi S8

The V8 Bi-Turbo with 520 hp remains the most powerful engine in the Audi A8. The 4-liter engine propels the sportiest A8 to 4.2 km/h within 100 seconds. But here too, the “COD technology” (cylinder deactivation) is intended to ensure reasonable consumption values, apart from maximum performance. Audi claims 10.1 liters per 100 kilometers.

Audi A8 Hybrid

A four-cylinder engine with two liters displacement and turbocharging works together with an electric motor. As a result, 245 PS and 480 Nm of system performance are provided and put on the front axle on the road. On the electric side, a maximum of 100 km / h should be reached and a maximum range of 3 (!) Kilometers. Audi specifies the third-mix consumption for the hybrid with 6.3 liters on 100 kilometers.

Manufactured character: the interior of the Audi A8

The interior of the Audi flagship fascinates with its elegant lines and generous space. In the front seats, the options range extends to ventilation and massage. For the A8 and the A8 L, there are two electrically adjustable individual seats in the rear on request; The A8 L is available with a full leather center console. The first-class solution here is the retirement seat with an electrically adjustable footrest. In addition, there are many other features to choose from - from the four-zone automatic climate control via the servo-lock to the cool box.

All components in the new A8 are carefully selected and processed with high precision; each of the lovingly executed details documents the manufactory character of the interior. The range of cover materials, trim strips and colors has been rearranged in many areas - such as the new types of poplar grain brown-silver and ash-grain brown gold natural and the unique leather, which is particularly natural, soft and breathable.

The Audi design selection offers a pre-selection of exclusive interior materials and colors, including sycamore gray / marble gray. For the Audi S8, the design selection black / vermont brown with inlays in carbon twill copper is ready. The Audi exclusive program offers even more demanding customers further potential for customization.

Typically for Audi, the new A8 offers exemplary clear operation despite the abundance of functions. Its focus is the MMI control element on the center console of the tunnel; if the MMI navigation plus is on board, it comes with a touchpad. The driver can use the pad (MMI touch) to control numerous navigation and multimedia functions by entering characters.

Drive even more confidently: the assistance systems

The optional assistance systems make driving even more confident. The adaptive cruise control with stop & go function is linked to an expansion stage of the standard Audi pre sense basic safety system, and the same applies to Audi side assist. New in the A8 are the Audi active lane assist, which slightly corrects the steering direction if necessary, and the parking assistant with a display of the surroundings, which takes over the steering work when parking. The head-up display, which is also new, projects important information onto the windshield in the driver's field of vision. In addition to pedestrians, the night vision assistant can now also recognize larger wild animals.

Audi connect including a car phone is available as a supplement to MMI navigation plus; it connects the new A8 to the Internet via an integrated UMTS module. The passengers can surf and email freely with their mobile devices via a WLAN hotspot. The tailor-made online services from Audi connect come into the car for the driver - for example traffic information online, Google Earth and Google Street View as well as news online. In the multimedia area, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System impresses. The rear seat entertainment offers two displays, Bluetooth headphones and a DVD player.

The new Audi A8 arrives in Germany in November. Despite the further improved equipment (standard LED headlights for all models with V8 engine) and the more powerful engines, the prices change only slightly. In Germany, the new Audi model is available from 74.500 Euro.