The All-New Audi A8 Makes A NASA Control Room Look Dated

We can now bring you more details of the massively-changed new Audi A8, which has gone wholesale digital on the inside and can drive itself in traffic jams at up to 31mph
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The Audi A8 is here at last, and the technology on board makes the average space exploration mission look badly-funded and under-equipped.

We’ve already been able to tell you about the flagship saloon’s super-clever new suspension and bona fide foot massager, but now more details have been made public. The standard car is 37mm longer than its predecessor, at 5172mm 4mm narrower at 1945mm and 13mm taller at 1473mm. A long-wheelbase version adds 130mm to the middle of the car and an extra 15mm to the height.

The All-New Audi A8 Makes A NASA Control Room Look Dated

Under the skin you’ll find a heady mix of materials, from aluminium, which makes up 58 per cent of the structure, to high-tensile steels, magnesium and even carbonfibre. The interior is totally redesigned in a leap that looks more like two generations’ worth, focused on two stacked portrait-format screens sort of like the arrangement seen on existing Infiniti models. Many of the controls have been migrated to those, including heating and air movement.

The rest are contained within the Virtual Cockpit we already know and love. We’re not big fans of temperature control on touch-screens, though, so we’ll have to wait and see whether this one works any better than, say, Peugeot’s, which is impossible to use accurately at speed on anything worse than a perfect road surface.

The All-New Audi A8 Makes A NASA Control Room Look Dated

Annoyingly, a lot of the new and most impressive tech is optional, despite a predicted starting price of around £70,000. There are 41 distinct driver assist systems, for example, one of which is the optional Traffic Jam Pilot, which can operate in complete automation in traffic up to 31mph as long as there’s a barrier between it and oncoming traffic. That’s to do with safety in case there’s reason to swerve, suddenly – the car won’t see it.

There will be two engines to begin with; a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol with 335bhp and a 282bhp diesel. Eight-speed automatic gearboxes and quattro four-wheel drive are standard, while you can pay extra for a sport differential between the rear wheels if you wish. A third engine will be added in 2018: a meaty new 4.0-litre 429bhp V8 TDI that replaces the old 4.2. Eventually, a new 6.0-litre W12 with 585bhp will join the party. Y’know, for bants.

The All-New Audi A8 Makes A NASA Control Room Look Dated

An S8 has been confirmed and will use a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8. It’s the existing 4.0 TFSI engine from the Porsche Panamera Turbo with the dials turned to 542bhp; 22bhp more than the old S8’s. A lower-powered version of the same engine will be sold in the A8 in some markets, with 454bhp.

All versions will be hybrid to some degree. Most will be mild hybrids, where a ‘belt alternator starter’ acts both as starter motor and generator, recouping power from the engine and making for silky engine restarts. It will cut power during deceleration and coasting. A long-wheelbase plug-in hybrid badged e-tron will be the flagship hybrid, with 30-ish miles of electric driving range and optional wireless charging. Expect to see the first new A8s on the road in the autumn.

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Comments

Anonymous

Never thought I would have to say this. But the Panamera is quite a bit nicer at the back then that. It just looks…odd. Hopefully its better in person.

07/11/2017 - 12:43 |
14 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I bet it is. Was the same case with the A5

07/11/2017 - 17:16 |
2 | 0
Lucas Cassan

Thats exceptionally, horribly ugly

07/11/2017 - 13:29 |
2 | 0

Your (wrong) opinion.

07/11/2017 - 16:36 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

Isn’t the 4.0 Diesel the same Engine out of the SQ7 TDI? So technically, it wouldn’t be new..

07/11/2017 - 13:55 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Look at all that fancy sh!t to go wrong.

07/11/2017 - 16:58 |
2 | 0
The All-New Audi A8 Makes A NASA Control Room Look Dated
Straight6Unicorn95

Touchscreens for controls suck though. You have to look away from the street

07/11/2017 - 17:11 |
2 | 0

It’s a good thing you have all those assists then lol

07/11/2017 - 19:14 |
2 | 0
H5SKB4RU (Returned to CT)

Ahem…ford GT 2017, More computers than a GTR and a F-35 combined

And no big ol’ american v8! >:(

07/11/2017 - 21:14 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

So the W12 adds 2 litres and 4 cylinders to gain a measly 156 hp TDI V8? And only 43 hp more than the TFSI V8 in the S8?

07/11/2017 - 22:23 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Whenever I see interiors such as this

07/11/2017 - 22:54 |
0 | 0
Caro

To be fair, a NASA Control Room already is fairly dated.

07/12/2017 - 00:44 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Is it just me …?

07/12/2017 - 01:57 |
0 | 0