Audi marks centenary with new A8
Earlier this week in Miami, Audi‘s 100th anniversary was celebrated in style with the world premiere of the all new A8 sedan. Bearing the internal chassis code name D4, the third generation A8 moves the game on from its predecessor with lightweight aluminium construction, an improved Multi Media Interface (MMI) system, full LED headlights, and an array of electronic driver aids to match the best from Stuttgart and Munich.
Set to go on sale worldwide in 2010, the A8 is introduced with two 4.2-litre V8 engines – one petrol (FSI) and one diesel (TDI). A 3.0-litre TDI engine will follow later, in two states of tune – 250hp and 204hp, the latter being front wheel drive and tested in the EU cycle to consume 6.0 l/100km, and emit 159 g/km of CO2. The 4.2-litre motors are claimed to offer improvements in FC by 13 – 22% from their predecessors.
As per current trend in the increasing number of gears offered with auto transmissions, the new A8 comes standard with an 8-speed tiptronic semi-auto gearbox sending power to its quattro permanent AWD system. Standard on the 4.2 TDI, but optional on the rest is a sport differential which dynamically distributes torque between the rear wheels, sending more power to the one with more grip.
The all-new Audi A8.
Shape & Styling
Official press photos from Audi show a matured and elegantly styled vehicle. It isn’t very adventurous though – it could pass off as a mere facelift of the outgoing A8 rather than an all-new model. The unmistakable Audi family look is maintained, as it convincingly resembles an enlarged A4, which is a very handsome car in our books. It is, of course, very much larger than an A4, measuring 5,137mm long, 1,949mm wide, and 1,460mm tall. Its wheelbase is nearly 3-metres long, measuring at 2,992mm.
Dominating the front styling is Audi’s now-trademark giant one-piece radiator grille. Eight louvres run across it horizontally, with the famous four rings and number plate appearing to float in the midst. Flanking the grille are a pair of all-LED headlights, a feature first seen in the R8 5.2 FSI unveiled earlier this year. Now, if you think those headlights are just headlights, you’re quite wrong.
Audi’s trademark grille
The technological galore on the new A8 starts with the headlights and continue to the rest of the car. It is controlled by an adaptive head lamp system which swivels the bulbs to illuminate corners, and lowers your high beam when oncoming traffic are detected. It’s even connected to the sat nav system, so anticipates the upcoming corners, and move your headlights accordingly. Gone are the fog lights, replaced with what Audi calls the all-weather lights, housed in the headlamp unit.
Headlights are all-LED
There are more LEDs on show at the back – 72 LEDs each side are arranged to form a harmonious trapeziodal shape illumination similar to what’s now seen in the A4 and A6. The brake lights are housed inside the trapezoid, with the signal and reverse lamps below.
Taillights are LED too.
Body & Chassis
The very first generation of the A8 served to pioneer the Audi Space Frame (ASF) aluminium chassis technology. For the latest A8, the ASF sees a 25% increase in torsional stiffness over the previous model, whilst at the same time recording some savings in weight, thanks to the use of a new high-strength aluminium alloy. For drag coefficient, Audi quoted a figure of 0.26, specifically attaching it to the 4.2 FSI only. It’s an impressive figure, though we have no idea why it should be different for the 4.2 TDI or 3.0 TDI.
Audi Space Frame
Under the skin, the suspension components are built mainly of aluminium. The control arms of the five-link front suspension are made of forged aluminium, whereas the rear trapezoidal links are made of the same metal in cast grade mounted on a steel subframe. The air-filled struts of the adaptive air suspension system are electronically controlled, being connected to the Audi Drive Select system, featuring three modes – comfort, auto, and dynamic, with the option for the driver to programme a fourth.
The steering system also features a heavy use of electronics. Dubbed dynamic steering, it is a speed-sensitive system which is tied to the car’s stability programme, even making unnoticed steering corrections for the drivers when the car is being pushed to the limits.
Interior
A lot of good things were printed on Audi’s press release about the new A8’s interior, but perhaps the most eye-catching feature of them all is the shift-by-wire lever of the 8 A/T, located on the driver’s side of wide centre console. Inspired by the thrust lever on yachts, it is also shaped like the top of a walking stick, it also reminds us of an aircraft’s throttle control.
What does it remind you of?
Indeed, the unfamiliar might even be forgiven if they do mistake the new A8’s cabin for that of an aircraft. Just further north of the gear selector lever is a panel of switches to operate the climate control and Audi MMI system for which an 8-inch LCD screen rises upon activation, displaying info in full-blown 3D imagery. Other standard features in the cabin include a start/stop button, two zone climate control (four-zone an option), and 12-way electric adjustment front seats (22-way optional).
Cabin is tech-laden
Engine & Drivetrain
As mentioned earlier, the new A8 goes into the market with two 4.2-litre V8 motors on offer, to be followed by a 3.0-litre diesel V6s. All of the engines feature direct injection, and are equipped with various fuel saving features, termed ‘modular efficiency system’ by Audi. Among systems mentioned under this package include brake energy regeneration and computer controlled thermal management.
While the 372hp 4.2-litre FSI is a properly powerful motor, the highlight of the range is actually the 350hp 4.2 TDI, which twists out an astonishing 800Nm @ 1,750 – 2,750rpm. En route to a capped 250kph top speed, the 4.2 TDI demolishes the century sprint in 5.5 seconds, yet consuming only 7.6 l/100km of fuel, and emitting 199 g/km CO2.
Diesel V8 motor is the gem.
The 3.0 TDI is no slouch either. Displacing 2,967cc, the engine is good for 250hp and 550Nm @ 1,500 – 3,000rpm. It’s marginally slower than the 4.2 TDI, 6.6 seconds to hit 100kph from rest, but it’s also more economical, taking in only 6.6 l/100km, and emitting 174 g/km CO2. Helping it with these commendable economy figures is a start-stop system which deactivates the engine during standstill. A detuned 204hp version of this engine will then be added in a front-wheel drive variant of the A8.
Sending power to the quattro all-wheel drive system is an 8-speed Tiptronic semi-automatic transmission, for which Audi promised smooth and seamless gear change. The brains of this transmission is what Audi calls the Dynamic Shift Program (DSP). Besides the usual changing of shifting modes available to the driver, the DSP is, get this, actually tied in to the car’s navigation system, and hence plans its gearchanges based on the car’s projected course.
To rein in the 4.2 TDI’s mountainous reserves of torque, that variant is equipped standard with an electronic sport differential, optional on others, continuously varies driving force between the rear wheels. As expected, the differential’s controller has three selectable programming modes – auto, comfort, and dynamic.
Audi Drive Select
The Wired Stuff
Like the S-class and 7-series, Audi’s flagship luxo-barge is pumped full of electronics. First of them is the pre-sense system, which upon detection of skidding via the ESP sensors, and I paraphrase this from the press release, ‘activates the hazard warning lights, closes the side windows & sunroof, and tensions the front seat belts’.
As an option, pre-sense can be tied to the adaptive cruise control with stop & go to form Audi pre-sense front, which monitors traffic in front via radar and warns the driver first by signal, then by jerking the brakes. If the driver ignores those warnings, the system takes matters into its own hands and proceeds to slow (but not stop) the car down, once again ‘activating the hazard warning lights, closing the side windows & sunroof, and tensioning the front seat belts’.
Going for the full monty Audi pre-sense plus sees the car braking with full force when it determines that a collision is imminent. Audi claims that this feature reduces the speed at impact by about 40kph. Finally, the pre-sense rear monitors for impending rear-end collision, upon which it closes all the glass areas, tightes the seat belts, and straigthens the optional memory seats.
The aforementioned ACC Stop & Go system sees the world with a pair of radar sensors mounted in the front air inlets. In stop-and-go traffic, it has the ability to bring the A8 to a halt, and then get it moving again when the car in front gets going. Linked in to the on-board navigation system, it has the ability to ‘detect complex scenarios and make anticipatory decisions in support of the driver’. As you read on, you’re probably wondering if one of these days, cars will render even drivers obsolete.
Further assistance comes in the form of the Audi lane assist, which warns the driver when he/she makes inadvertent lane changes. Like rival luxo-barges, the A8 also features night vision assistant with thermal imaging technology and the pedestrian identifying algorithms.
The MMI system also moves things on, with the introduction of touchpad interface to replace the now standard rotary knob system. It allows you to draw letters or numbers with your fingers, recognizing Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters.
Availability
The new A8 is widely expected to hit the market in early 2010, though no official dates have been given by Audi yet. I don’t expect the car to go on sale (in Europe at least) any later than March 2010.
On our shores, I doubt Audi is in any hurry to bring this new A8 here, considering that the outgoing A8 sells in limited numbers, thanks definitely to its RM900k price tag.
It’s probably gonna be too expensive when it comes…
KON
Pictures: Official Audi release
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