The Audi A8 Gets A Midlife Refresh

Audi has globally unveiled a slick new midlife refresh for the A8 flagship sedan featuring a host of advanced tech and standard driver assistance features. The update also extends to the S8 sports sedan that will exclusively be  a long-wheelbase offering for the Asian and North American markets. In China, Audi will also offer a ‘Horsch’ variant that will be even longer and more luxurious than the A8 L. 

Talking about what’s changed on the A8, the new grille takes up even more real estate on the front fascia, and the A8 now looks more aggressive and sporty in its standard guise than ever. The headlights are larger, and below them, there’s a thick chrome strip that surrounds the air dams and runs along the width of the bumper. At the rear, the new OLED (organic LED) tail lamps are a tad larger and more rounded, and the chrome trim at the base of the bumper has been redesigned. Under the skin, 58 percent of the A8’s frame is made of aluminium. The engineers have even used carbon fibre-reinforced polymer and magnesium in the car’s construction to reduce weight. 

The cabin design remains largely unchanged overall, but you do get optional 10.1-inch touchscreens for rear passengers. There’s a 1920-watt, 23-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system paired with the 10.1-inch infotainment screen mounted on the dashboard. There’s even a smartphone-sized touchscreen rear seat remote on the centre armrest for controlling the seat recline and other functions. 

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As standard, you’ll get a 350PS/500Nm 3-litre TFSI turbo petrol engine that’s enough to get this large sedan from 0-100kmph in just 5.6 seconds (claimed). It’ll also be offered with a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with cylinder deactivation to improve fuel economy and emissions. With its 460PS and 660Nm, it can get even the long-wheelbase A8 L 60 TFSI from 0-100kmph in just 4.4 seconds. These outputs differ depending on the variant and could be different for the India-spec A8 when it arrives. 

On the other hand, the updated S8 sports sedan has the same 4-litre TFSI V8 engine as the regular model, but it makes a whopping 571PSand 800Nm! The 0-100kmph sprint is reduced to just  3.8 seconds. It'll also feature a sport rear differential and a new all-wheel steering system that can turn the rear wheels to increase cornering agility and make the sedan easier to manoeuvre in the city. The best part? All these features that are standard in the S8 will also be available as an option on the A8 sedan. 

The facelifted A8 will offer a predictive suspension system that can load and unload the air suspension before the car goes over a pothole or into a corner. Additionally, a basic driver assistance system is standard. The new ‘Park Assist’ feature can autonomously park the sedan without the driver in the seat! In the fully loaded sedan, the system is capable of driving in the city and on the highway with minimal driver intervention. 

Similar to how Mercedes turned its flagship S-Class into the Maybach sedan, Audi will offer a ‘Horch’ variant of the A8 in China. It’ll be longer than the long-wheelbase A8 L, and more luxurious with deep-pile rear floor mats and quilted leather interiors. An extra helping of chrome and a hand-applied two-tone paintwork will set this premium sedan apart from the run-of-the-mill flagship Audi sedan. 

The new Audi A8 is already on sale in its home market in Germany, with deliveries in other countries scheduled to start in December. We can expect the updated A8 to arrive on our shores in the first half of 2022, and it is likely to be priced higher than the current sedan that retails from Rs 1.57 crore (ex-showroom, India). It’ll rival the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series in India. We could also get the more hardcore S8 later on, and there’s even a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) A8 in the pipeline that could be offered in India in the future.