Audi’s highly-rated A8, which will be launched in South Africa early next year, will soon sport the same 336-kW six-litre W12 engine used in Volkswagen’s Phaeton, Touareg 4×4 and the Bentley Continental GT.
Audi’s highly-rated A8, which will be launched in South Africa early next year, will soon sport the same 336-kW six-litre W12 engine used in Volkswagen’s Phaeton, Touareg 4×4 and the Bentley Continental GT.
The engine produces 580N.m and will propel this long-wheelbase A8 from zero-100km/h in 5,2 seconds. The top speed will be electronically limited to 250km/h.
The aluminium body and spaceframe chassis help to contain the weight of this massive car and aid handling, acceleration and fuel consumption. The engine is fitted with six-speed automatic transmission with the tiptronic sequential-shift function and a Sport programme. As the name A8L 6.0 Quattro denotes, four-wheel drive is standard, as is the adaptive air suspension.
The A8 flagship can be distinguished from other A8s by its single-frame grille with an outer chrome ring, grey cooling fins and horizontal chrome strips. The new grille is suggestive of the new front-end styling that will be adopted on the rest of the Audi range, and this new model will also be the first production car to have LED daytime lights.
The daytime lights will have adaptive beams and, unlike traditional daytime lights, will have no effect on fuel consumption and will also give the car a greater safety advantage.
Unfortunately for South African motorists, the long-wheelbase, W12-powered version of the A8 will not be available when the range is launched in the first quarter of 2004. Instead, Audi South Africa will only launch the A8 4,2-litre Quattro derivative as seen at least year’s Auto Africa motor show.
