The wait is over

Always the flagship of the Audi brand, this new incarnation of the Audi A8 – its fourth – is so much more than just another model. After a teasing appearance on the red carpet at the recent LA premiere of Spider-man: Homecoming, the new A8 took centre stage at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, clearly signalling the brand’s future direction, with incredible new technology in place, heralding in a new era.

Once the stuff of sci-fi movies, this new Audi A8 features an innovative touchscreen operating concept and a systematically electrified drive and has the distinction of being the first production car in the world to have been developed for highly automated driving. 

From 2018, Audi will begin taking piloted driving functions such as parking pilot, garage pilot and traffic jam pilot into production, marking a whole new era not only for Audi but for the car.

‘The future is now,’ according to Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of AUDI AG, addressing guests at the inaugural Audi Summit in Barcelona. During the live telecast of the event and the unveiling of the stunning new A8 he pointed to an exciting future in which automotive innovations will mean more time for people to enjoy their time – ‘finding the 25th hour of the day’. 

“Not in the far future, we start with this right now, with the new generation of Audi cars to come,” Stadler said, and the stunning new A8 is proof positive that the brand can deliver on its promise.

The new A8 is a stunner. The front end with the wide, upright Singleframe grille and the fluid, muscular body symbolises sporty elegance and sophistication. Reminiscent of past models, but unmistakably fresh and forward facing.

Indeed, the new flagship model is distinctive in appearance day and night, drawing on both the striking HD Matrix LED headlights with Audi laser lighting, and the LED light strip combined with OLED technology rear lights. 

Inside, the new A8 is more a sumptuous, spacious lounge environment for passengers – although always an driver’s car – larger than its predecessor and even more lavishly appointed.

The range of equipment and materials is extensive, with every detail radiating superlative bespoke quality – from the perforation in the seat upholstery to the electrically opened and closed shutters on the air vents. 

The best seat in the new Audi flagship model is in the rear right (overseas models obviously) – the optional relaxation seat in the A8 L that comes with four different adjustment options and a footrest. In this seat, the passenger can warm and massage the soles of their feet on a unit with multiple settings incorporated into the back of the front-passenger seat. The new comfort head restraints complete the experience. The rear passengers can also control an array of functions such as ambient lighting, the new HD Matrix reading lights and seat massage, plus make private phone calls, via a separate operating unit. The rear seat remote, with its OLED display as large as a smartphone, is a removable unit housed in the centre armrest. 

Throughout the cabin, the interior controls and operating systems have been completely redesigned. Gone are the rotary pushbutton and touchpad of the past, replaced by a 10.1-inch touchscreen display which, when off, blends almost invisibly into the high-gloss black surround. 

The user interface appears as soon as the car is opened. The driver controls the Infotainment system with fingertip control on the large display, using a second touchscreen display on the centre tunnel console to access the air conditioning and comfort functions as well as make text inputs. When the driver activates a function in the upper or lower display, they hear and feel a click by way of confirmation. The glass-look operating buttons respond in the same way. The combination of acoustic and tactile feedback along with the use of common touch gestures such as swiping make the new MMI touch response especially safe, intuitive and quick to use. 

But the innovation is not confined to the extraordinary interior. The new A8 is the first production vehicle to have been developed specially for highly automated driving. The Audi AI traffic jam pilot takes charge of driving in slow-moving traffic at up to 60km/h on highways where a physical barrier separates the two carriageways. The system is activated using the AI button on the centre console. 

The traffic jam pilot manages starting, accelerating, steering and braking. The driver no longer needs to monitor the car permanently. They can take their hands off the steering wheel permanently and, depending on local laws, focus on a different activity that is supported by the car, such as watching the on-board TV. As soon as the system reaches its limits, it calls on the driver to take back control of the task of driving. 

From a technical perspective the traffic jam pilot is revolutionary. During piloted driving, a central driver assistance controller (zFAS) now permanently computes an image of the surroundings by merging the sensor data. As well as the radar sensors, a front camera and the ultrasonic sensors, Audi is the first car manufacturer also to use a laser scanner. The introduction of the Audi AI traffic jam pilot means the statutory framework will need to be clarified in each individual market, along with the country-specific definition of the application and testing of the system.

Parking too is taken care of by the new A8, with the AI remote parking pilot and the Audi AI remote garage pilot autonomously steering the A8 into and out of a parking space or a garage, while the driver monitors the manoeuvre from either inside or indeed outside the car. 

The list of equipment and technology is extraordinary and extensive. Dynamic all-wheel steering, Audi AI active suspension, not only make for a better driving experience, but an infinitely safer one.

The new A8 will start out on the German market with two extensively reengineered V6 turbo engines: a 3.0 TDI and a 3.0 TFSI – producing 210kW and 250kW respectively. Two eight-cylinder versions – a 4.0 TDI with 320kW and a 4.0 TFSI with 338kW – will follow later, along with the exclusive top engine version, the W12 with a displacement of 6.0 litres.

Australian release details and final specification for the new A8 are still to be confirmed at time of writing. 

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