Audi design selection brass beige carefully combines well-matched colors with individual materials and comfort-oriented equipment items. The roof-mounted grab handles and rear console have additional fine wood trim.
The Audi A8 L W12 quattro: Splendor and efficiency
Twelve cylinders are the ultimate engine configuration, a tradition that still applies in the large luxury car class. The first-generation A8 was available with an engine of this type from 2001 on, and a developed version could be obtained from 2004 on in the following model. Audi’s engineers have now thoroughly revised the W12. Its displacement has been increased, and gasoline direct injection boosts its output and its efficiency.
The 6.3 FSI engine has an output of 368 kW (500 hp) and delivers its peak torque of 625 Nm (460.98 lb-ft) at engine speeds at 3,250 rpm. It gives the long-wheelbase Audi A8 the kind of performance normally expected of a sports car: it sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in only 4.9 seconds and effortlessly reaches its governed top speed of 250 km/h (155.34 mph).
Safe and sporty: Transmission
The transmission makes a major contribution to ensuring the high efficiency of the Audi A8 L. The eight-speed tiptronic shifts smoothly and quickly, with the individual gears closely spaced but with a generous overall spread from low to high. Gear shifts are performed electronically (“shift by wire”) from an elegant yacht-style selector lever or at steering wheel paddles.
The center differential, the main component in the quattro permanent all-wheel drive train, divides the torque flow from the engine in a sporty manner, with 60 percent to the rear axle and 40 percent to the front in regular driving conditions. But if the situation changes, up to 60 percent of the torque can be sent to the front, or 80 percent to the rear. An optional sport differential splits the torque input actively between the left and right rear wheels.
Maximum precision: Chassis
Thanks to its advanced chassis design, the long-wheelbase Audi A8 brings together the silky, refined smoothness of a true luxury car and the handling of a sport sedan. The wheel control arms are made of aluminum. The front suspension uses five locating arms at each wheel; the controlled-track wishbone rear suspension ensures a supremely comfortable ride. The servotronic power steering system has a direct operating ratio and operates at high efficiency.
The adaptive air suspension with controlled damping is standard equipment and is integrated into the Audi drive select dynamics system. With this system the driver can choose between four different operating settings of the engine, the eight-speed tiptronic transmission, the servotronic power steering, the optional sport differential and the Audi pre sense basic safety system. An additional module is the dynamic steering system, which varies its gear ratio steplessly according to road speed.
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| Photo: Audi |
The Audi A8 L W12 quattro: Splendor and efficiency
Twelve cylinders are the ultimate engine configuration, a tradition that still applies in the large luxury car class. The first-generation A8 was available with an engine of this type from 2001 on, and a developed version could be obtained from 2004 on in the following model. Audi’s engineers have now thoroughly revised the W12. Its displacement has been increased, and gasoline direct injection boosts its output and its efficiency.
The 6.3 FSI engine has an output of 368 kW (500 hp) and delivers its peak torque of 625 Nm (460.98 lb-ft) at engine speeds at 3,250 rpm. It gives the long-wheelbase Audi A8 the kind of performance normally expected of a sports car: it sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in only 4.9 seconds and effortlessly reaches its governed top speed of 250 km/h (155.34 mph).
Safe and sporty: Transmission
The transmission makes a major contribution to ensuring the high efficiency of the Audi A8 L. The eight-speed tiptronic shifts smoothly and quickly, with the individual gears closely spaced but with a generous overall spread from low to high. Gear shifts are performed electronically (“shift by wire”) from an elegant yacht-style selector lever or at steering wheel paddles.
The center differential, the main component in the quattro permanent all-wheel drive train, divides the torque flow from the engine in a sporty manner, with 60 percent to the rear axle and 40 percent to the front in regular driving conditions. But if the situation changes, up to 60 percent of the torque can be sent to the front, or 80 percent to the rear. An optional sport differential splits the torque input actively between the left and right rear wheels.
Maximum precision: Chassis
Thanks to its advanced chassis design, the long-wheelbase Audi A8 brings together the silky, refined smoothness of a true luxury car and the handling of a sport sedan. The wheel control arms are made of aluminum. The front suspension uses five locating arms at each wheel; the controlled-track wishbone rear suspension ensures a supremely comfortable ride. The servotronic power steering system has a direct operating ratio and operates at high efficiency.
The adaptive air suspension with controlled damping is standard equipment and is integrated into the Audi drive select dynamics system. With this system the driver can choose between four different operating settings of the engine, the eight-speed tiptronic transmission, the servotronic power steering, the optional sport differential and the Audi pre sense basic safety system. An additional module is the dynamic steering system, which varies its gear ratio steplessly according to road speed.
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