The highly anticipated flagship car from the four rings brand, the 2011 Audi A8 was unveiled at Miami recently, ahead of its arrival in UK showrooms next March.
The sporty luxury car features revolutionary features and equipment that is an Audi and Industry first. It has lost the mass and bulk of the current model’s styling, replacing it instead with design themes from the A4. It’s a bigger car than its predecessor and at 5137mm long, 1949mm wide and 1460mm tall, it’s longer and wider than a Mercedes S-class or a BMW 7-series but lower than both. That makes it the biggest car in its class. As with all previous A8s, the car is built from aluminum, and using new alloys has cut 6.5kg from the A8’s weight.
The front and rear lights use LEDs that offer illumination more like daylight than conventional headlamps. They also use less energy and weigh less.
All A8s come with an eight-speed auto and Quattro four-wheel drive as standard, and there’s a sport differential option which splits torque between the rear wheels. Audi has added a new safety system called pre-sense, which activates the hazard lights, closes the windows and sunroof and pre-tensions the seat belts if the brakes are fully applied.
Inside there’s an all-new interior. The gear selector is now an electronic shifter, with four positions; Audi says it’s shaped like the thrust lever on a powerboat. The MMI system has been moved from the centre console to the fascia, and now features a touchpad panel, which allows you to write letters or numbers on the screen to enter phone numbers or navigation destinations.
Source: Autocar and Car Magazine UK
