2011 Audi A8: First Look
- Competes with: BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S Class
- Looks like: A luxury car fit for a movie set in the not-too-distant future
- Drivetrain: 372-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 with eight-speed transmission, all-wheel drive
- Hits dealerships: Late 2010
The A8 here is the standard model, and a long-wheelbase model will also be available when the two go on sale late in 2010. However, the standard A8 is 202 inches long, just 2 inches shy of the outgoing long-wheelbase edition. There’s no telling how big the stretched 2011 will get. While Audi won’t give out official weight figures, the good news is the larger 2011 will weigh virtually the same as the 2010 and less than the competition.
Audi has been a pioneer in using LED lighting around headlights as either daytime running lights or as accent lights. The A8’s entire headlight structure is made up of LEDs, and the design looks a bit too wild for anything that will be heading to the country club.
Underneath the design is a revised all-aluminum chassis, which the company says is 25% more rigid than the 2010 model.
An adjustable suspension system is standard and allows for four different settings: Dynamic, Comfort, Auto and Individual.
Audi’s Multi Media Interface, which controls navigation, air conditioning, audio and other functions, gets an upgrade and can now recognize handwriting in various languages. It rests above the shifter, which Audi categorizes as “yacht” like.
One of our favorite features of the old A8 was its optional Bang & Olufsen sound system. That $8,000 option had 1,000 watts and some nifty pop-up tweeters. The new system has 19 speakers and 1,400 watts. Clearly more is better with this A8. If you don’t opt for the upgrade you’re stuck with a Bose surround system as standard equipment.
There’s also an array of standard and optional safety features that are becoming more common among cars in this class. A pre-collision system is teamed with adaptive cruise control, and there are also lane departure warning and blind spot detection systems.
The 2011 A8 and its long-wheelbase variant will likely ring in at least as much as the outgoing 2010’s starting price of $74,550. Audi also says a hybrid version may be available in the near future.
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The whole thing looks boring and too similar to the old model. Where it the leap forward in design like they did from the D2 to D3 generation?
The headlights look sad, reminds me of the Droopy cartoons from the 50's.
Little bland on the outside. Reminds me of a larger A4. However, the interior is stunning. That shifter is so much better looking than anything offered from Benz or BMW.
Does anyone do the details of an interior better than Audi??? NO! Exterior is a bit conservative but I love the new lamps.
What a boring piece of junk. It might be bland but at least it has horrible reliability to keep things interesting.
Jeeze you people are hard to please. This looks like a great elegant car, very stately. Reliability is another matter, but who cares when you have that much money to blow on this.
Zack, you're just a person that like to bring down cars that you'll never have the guts to or have the money to own. either that, or you're just an idiot. take your pick. then again, anyone calling an A8 a piece of junk must be on some sort of medication...
JM, which ones are you on?
LOL
366hp might not be enough to play with the the big boys.
Where is the supercharger at?
I also think that a hybrid version may be available in the near future.
http://www.ksleds.com/