SHAH ALAM, June 5 — The new flagship of Audi, the A8 L is here.
Euromobil Sdn Bhd, the official importers of the Audi brand announced the arrival of the fully-imported luxury sedan yesterday.
The A8 L, as the name suggests, is the long wheelbase version of the A8, and with 3,122mm between the front and rear wheels, it presents a massive amount of cabin space that is befitting a luxury sedan.
With a body made almost entirely out of aluminium, the A8 is relatively light in weight compared to its competitors, and weighs in at a kerb weight of just 1,880 kg. A side benefit is that owners will not have to worry about rust as the car ages. The A8 L is built around an aluminium space frame made up of 13 grades of aluminium, engineered to have exceptional stiffness and lower weight for better performance, efficiency and driving dynamics.
The new model takes luxury a step further, adding on more standard equipment and advanced features. The new A8 L is longer at 5,265 millimetres, wider at 1,949 millimetres and stands at only 1,471 millimetres in height. The 520-liter luggage compartment has been reconfigured and can now accommodate up to 4 golf bags.
The Audi A8 L flagship sedan exudes modern elegance, luxury and dynamism, finessed by subtle sculptured flowing lines of the bonnet, the single frame grille, the front bumper and the lower edge of the headlight units. At the rear, the design of the LED tail lamps has been revised and the bumper now incorporates two rhomboid tail pipes with new chrome elements and high gloss black window frames.
The new generation A8 L is also enhanced by new Matrix Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, first in its class. The high-beam function in these unique headlights uses 25 individual LEDs per unit that can be switched on and off or dimmed individually depending on the situation. This enables the headlight system to react extremely precisely to other vehicles while always brightly illuminating the road.
An on-board camera detects other vehicles ahead, and the Audi Matrix LED headlights respond by masking the relevant sections of the high-beam by dimming or shutting off individual diodes, whilst bright illumination is preserved in the remaining zones.
The lighting system in the A8 L also uses predictive route data from the navigation system with MMI Touch to adjust the distribution of light in response to the current driving situation, and can recognise and act on route data, such as corners and road classifications.
Additional features of the new headlights are the intelligent cornering lights, new-look daytime running lights and dynamic indicator lights. These indicators with a dynamic sweeping movement have the potential to significantly enhance traffic safety especially when visibility is poor.
The A8 L is equipped with a supercharged V6, 3.0 TFSI® petrol engine boosting 310 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque between 2,900 and 4,750 rpm. Fuel consumption is mooted at 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres, which is commendable for this size of sedan. CO2 emission is just 184 grams CO2 per kilometre. Paired with quattro® all-wheel drive, the 3.0 TFSI® now powers the A8 L from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.
An eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission transmits power to all four wheels via the quattro® permanent all-wheel drive system, with Audi Drive Select system, which adjusts the operating characteristics of various controls and functions, as standard. Audi Drive Select also influences the standard adaptive air suspension.
The interior of the new Audi A8 L is characterised by modern yet elegant design, generous space and meticulous craftsmanship. The combinations of the Vavona wood assam and brushed aluminium silver inlays with luxurious Valcona leather are stylishly combined to complement the interior. Available upon request is the Unikat leather, exclusively for the Audi A8, which has been naturally tanned with plant extracts without chemical additives for better comfort and high breathability.
Ambient lighting in the car comes across as even more artistic, comprising LEDs, light guides, light strips and the indirect illumination of the centre console. The driver can choose between the colour schemes Ivory, Polar, or Ruby/Polar, and adjust the brightness in four zones. Also included as standard equipment is a leather-covered power-adjustable 4-spoke steering wheel and shift paddles. The front section of the console is visually separated from the instrument panel. Wide and slightly sloped, it serves as the control panel for the four-zone deluxe automatic air conditioning air. It has a separate rear air conditioner and Euromobil also installs an ioniser for improved air quality upon request.
The rear of the new Audi A8 has an additional 13 centimetres of additional legroom in the long wheel base version. Glass sunroof and electric sun shades for the rear side windows and rear window are standard. The rear seat offers two individual, power-adjustable and ventilated seats with lumbar support also includes comfort head restraints. Equipped as standard is rear seat entertainment, with two independently controlled, 10.2” high resolution displays and two wireless Bluetooth headsets.
As safety is paramount, the Audi A8 L is equipped with the Audi pre sense basic for greater control on the road. The system intervenes upon detecting an unstable driving situation via the sensors of the ESC electronic stabilisation control system.
Audi night vision assistant improves convenience at night thanks to its integrated thermal imaging camera, highlighting any pedestrians and larger wild animals detected or opt for the head-up display which projects key information onto the windscreen at eye level. The optional adaptive cruise control assistance system keeps the A8 L at a constant distance from the preceding vehicle at speeds between zero and 200 km/h (If the threat of a rear-end collision becomes imminent at speeds below 30 km/h).
For convenience, the Audi A8 L features the parking aid plus with reverse camera as standard. Another standard feature is the MMI® navigation plus with the MMI® touchpad, makes operating the individual components of the Multi Media Interface even easier.
A Bose surround sound system with a digital amplifier with over 600 watts drives 14 speakers including a subwoofer. The system can also play stereo recordings in five-channel surround sound. At the top of the line is the optional Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. The heart of this top unit is two amplifiers with over 1,400 watts of total output. Their digital output stages, which have been systematically designed for energy efficiency, drive 19 speakers (including subwoofer) via 19 channels.
The Audi A8 L is available in six colours – Argus brown, Foil silver, Ibis White, Havana black, Oolong Grey and Moonlight Blue. The Audi A8 L price starts from RM689,500 OTR with 4-year warranty.
