The Audi A8 is a four door luxury limousine from the German automaker that competes with the BMW 7 Series sedan. The A8 entered production in 1994 and the third generation was just unveiled as a 2011 model. Powered by everything from a 2.8 Liter V6 in the base model all the way up to the top of the line 6.0 Liter W12. The first generation S8 was featured in the 1998 film Ronin, powered by a 4.2 Liter V8 making 335 HP. Meanwhile the second generation S8 had a 5.2 Liter FSI V10 under the hood that produced 444 HP and 398 lb-ft of torque and could rocket from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.1 seconds, more then enough to trounce its 12 cylinder luxury limousine rivals despite being electronically limited to a 155 MPH top speed.
In the spirit of the coming holidays, Audi has effectively gift-wrapped the new Audi A8 in a blanket of aluminum foil, concealing the car’s appearance from the wandering eyes of the public until its much-anticipated unveiling on November 30.
We’re not big fans of having to wait for the covers to be lifted but we do appreciate a good set-up when we see one. If you don’t know, the Audi A8 will be launched at the Audi Pavilion in Miami on Monday, at which time; the public will finally get a first-hand look at Audi’s new flagship luxury car.
Days before the world premier of the new Audi A8 at the Audi Pavilion in Miami, the boys from Ingolstadt released a short teaser video of the new flagship luxury sedan.
It looks like Audi is really pushing hard to create an artsy spin on the new A8, even going as far as giving us a rather, ‘artistic’ teaser of the new A8. Not much of the car is shown, but it does make you wonder as to what the unveiling is going to be like on November 30.
As far as we’re concerned, we have a gut feeling that it’s going to be something we’ve never seen before. But that’s just us.
The world debut of the new Audi A8 will not be happening on any auto shows in the near future.
No; for this occasion, Audi wants to hog the spotlight all to itself and rightfully so. The flagship A8 sedan will make its world unveiling at the Audi Pavilion on November 30 - the eve of the yearly art-fest ’Design Miami’. If you don’t know where that is, it’s actually
a temporary museum structure located in Miami.
Some of you might find the decision a little curious, especially since the upcoming LA Auto Show figures to be the perfect setting for the A8 to be revealed. But the decision ultimately rested on the shoulders of the folks from Ingolstadt and they figured that the A8 would be best-served to have the stage all the itself.
As far as the venue-of-choice is concerned, Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, decided that Miami’s Design District would be the ideal location because, as he said: "Our claim "Vorsprung durch Technik" also embraces design, which is one of the outstanding elements of the Audi signature. And as top design has now emerged as an acknowledged art form, we see the bridge between art and architecture as a logical step in advancing our brand."
We don’t really have any preference as to where Audi decides to unveil the new A8, although their decision to skip the auto show scene has led us to believe that they may have something up their sleeve as far as the world unveiling of the A8 is concerned.
We know that sometimes, car manufacturers would go through great lengths to conceal their to-be-launched vehicles when they take out for a spin on the streets. We’ve seen stickers, body paints, and even camouflage disguises. What we haven’t seen is a carmaker disguising itself as another brand in an effort to remain anonymous.
Apparently, that’s what Audi did when they rolled out the 2010 Audi A8 along the highways of Arizona. From afar, it’s pretty confusing to distinguish the make and model of the car because of the light camouflage but when you see it closer, you’ll notice a distinct badge from the car’s front grille. In this case, the badge was that of...Mitsubishi?
While keen observers will immediately realize the deception – after all, the Mitsubishi badge is turned upside down – the ruse was still convincing enough to dupe a number of confused passers-by.
Nonetheless, the 2010 A8 – whether or not it does come with a Mitsubishi insignia – is shaping up to be one of most highly-anticipated Audi’s to be released in a long time. While no timetable has been set for the car’s release – it’s still a long ways from now – production has been scheduled to commence in a year’s time in Audi’s Neckarsulm factory in Germany.
Audi is planning to unveil a redesigned Audi A8 early in 2010 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. According to Edmund’s Inside Line, the next generation A8 will undergo more of an evolutionary restyling rather than a radical update in order to look more like rest of the current four ringed family. Just like its predecessor, the smoothed A8 will compete with other upscale models like the Mercedes Benz S-Class and the BMW 7-Series luxury limousine.
Under the hood, we are expecting to see a host of gas and diesel burning engines, including the torquey twelve cylinder engine that is currently used in the Q7 V12 TDI, as well as the 5.2 Liter engine that is going in the back of the upcoming V10 R8. The ten cylinder will deliver up to 520 HP, just like the super car, and the rather large TDI mill will have a maximum output somewhere in the same range as the gas engine except with a monstrous 738 lb-ft of torque and an available eight-speed automatic transmission.
This will be the fourth generation of the Audi A8, and from the rendering it is apparent that the automaker is focusing on evolution rather than revolution and continue to use the "Vorsprung durch Technik" inspired aluminum space frame and Quattro all-wheel drive system with sport differentials.
The world debut of the new 
Some of you might find the decision a little curious, especially since the upcoming LA Auto Show figures to be the perfect setting for the A8 to be revealed. But the decision ultimately rested on the shoulders of the folks from Ingolstadt and they figured that the A8 would be best-served to have the stage all the itself.
