The world debut of the new Audi A8->ke1089 will not be happening on any auto shows in the near future.

No; for this occasion, Audi->ke14 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.

Press release and video after the jump.

PRESS RELEASE

Art of Progress: World premiere of the new Audi A8New Audi A8 to be unveiled on the eve of Design MiamiExhibition with Tom Dixon and the Rubell Family Collection

The 100th anniversary year of the Audi brand is set to culminate with a very special occasion. November 30 sees the world premiere of the new Audi A8 – in the extraordinary setting of Miami. Here the brand’s new flagship will be presented in a truly innovative way in the Audi Pavilion, a temporary museum structure. It is to be the focal point of the vernissage “The Art of Progress,” which exhibits cultural and technological progress and echoes the values of the new A8: Vorsprung durch Technik and design expertise that stirs the emotions.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, commented on the exhibition concept: “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.”

Miami has long since emerged as the worldwide capital of art and design. With the two high-profile fairs Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach, early December is traditionally the highpoint of the season for all art and design aficionados. On the eve of Design Miami the world premiere of the new Audi A8 will be held in this very beautiful setting.

Audi is celebrating the world premiere in unconventional style with a vernissage, which symbolizes the cultural and technological progress embodied in the Audi A8 with its history, its engineering and its emotion-packed design.

Inspired by the guiding principle “The Art of Progress,” the Audi flagship is due to be unveiled in the Audi Pavilion amidst selected art works from the new exhibition “Beg Borrow and Steal,” which belongs to the Rubell Family Collection, one of the world’s most important art collections, and the installation “The Light Light” – consisting of aluminum and LED light – by the British top designer Tom Dixon.

These three areas are linked thematically in the Audi Pavilion. They have in common an innovative and progressive nature and the courage to create new things, and are thus elegantly interlinked with each other in the exhibition.

“Artists, designers and engineers have one passion in common, which becomes evident in the “The Art of Progress” vernissage,” emphasizes Stefan Sielaff, Head of Design at AUDI AG: “And that is the handling of form, function, color and material. To what extent the result is art is decided by the claim behind it, but also by the observer.”

Through December 5 the vernissage in the Audi Pavilion is a satellite of Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach, and is open daily to visitors from all over the world to Design Miami and Art Basel.

Furthermore, this year Audi is acting as a designer among designers at Design Miami, where it will also be possible to see the new Audi A8. In the Audi Lounge, the brand’s flagship will be presented as a world premiere in an innovative setting to visitors to Art Basel Miami Beach and Design Miami. This year Audi is the exclusive automotive sponsor both of Design Miami and of Art Basel Miami Beach.

Audi Pavilion

45th & Collins Avenue (east of the large parking lot)

Miami Beach

Opening times:

December 2 through 5, 2009

Open daily from 12 noon through 8 p.m.

Audi Lounge at Design Miami

Design Miami Temporary Structure

NE 39th Street and 1st Court

Miami Design District

Opening times:

December 2 through 5, 2009

Open daily from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m.