GERMAN CAR firms sometimes can’t resist mixing car launches with the world of celebrity and the result is sometimes a little awkward. You can understand why Audi would choose Miami to launch its new flagship A8. It is a centre of art and design and home to many of the car’s key potential customers as they seek winter sun and ways to improve their art collection.
But asking Hollywood actress Lucy Liu to stumble through an awkward autocue-prompted interview with an Audi designer and British artist, Tom Dixon, looked like a distraction. It was a far cry from the considered, minimalist approach so often a hallmark of an Audi reveal. But the new A8 may have to shout quite loud to get noticed.
Audi’s A8 has always been rated highly, but often by the wrong people. Car journalists loved the way it handled and it was always seen as the luxury car of choice for those who wanted to sit in the driver’s seat. The thing is that these weren’t always the buyers.
The sporty ride didn’t suit many prospective customers and the interior wasn’t up to its key rivals. Despite great engines, Quattro all-wheel drive and undoubted good looks it seemed to lag behind the S-Class and BMW 7-Series.
There is no doubt that Audi has played it safe with the design of the new Audi A8. Teaser shots leading up to the reveal showed the car’s LED headlights, but with this Audi were nearly showing all its big guns at once. Within minutes of the reveal, journalists from around the world were embarked in head-to-head discussions and furiously typing into keyboards, saying this is simply a large Audi A4.
But, this is an oversimplistic sweep of what is a graceful design. Sure, the much-hyped row of LED lights at the front is a feature we have seen in some A4, A5 and R8 models and the rear end of the car looks like the A4, but the dramatic and pronounced shoulder-line, huge wheel arches and very low-slung front-end give the car a squat, poised look. This isnt a dramatic change in the way that Jaguar has done with their XJ, but Jaguar had nothing to lose with their radical departure.
The interior of the new A8 is beautiful. Work had been needed to make the living space more Bentley than Passat and they have succeeded. The attention to detail is superb, from the interior lighting to the technology used in the multimedia interface (MMI).
The aluminium A8 is all about weight saving and strength and the Audi Space Frame weighs in about 40 per cent less than a comparable steel structure and the torsional stiffness has increased by 25 per cent compared to its predecessor. Adaptive air-suspension is employed to address concerns about ride quality, but Audi is intent this will remain the most sporty drive in the luxury car segment.
The lightweight construction and clever suspension is twinned with a choice of two V8 engines initially, one petrol and the other a TDi. The petrol is a 4.2-litre FSi with 372bhp and 445Nm of torque propelling the car from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds and onto a limited 250km/h. Yet with CO2 emissions of 219g/km it doesn’t even sit in Ireland’s highest tax band. The 4.2-litre V8 diesel has 350bhp and an astonishing 800Nm of torque.
More relevant to our market will be the 3.0-litre TDi with 250bhp and 550Nm of torque. It gets to 100km/h in just 6.6 seconds and will return 6.6 l/100km and with CO 2emission of 174g/km, annual road tax will be just €630 per year, not bad for a car of this size.
There will also be a second variant of the 3.0-litre TDi with 204bhp and front-wheel drive at a later date. It will return 6.0 l/100km and with CO2 emissions of 159g/km it will be a tax band D car in Ireland. It will most likely be the strongest seller in our market. Expect prices for the A8 3.0 TDI to start at €95,000.
The A8 will come to Ireland in March, with most buyers likely to hang on until later in the year for the six-cylinder diesel engine.