22 July 2009 - 11:00
New Audi A8: first look
This is the new Audi A8. Well, a sketch of the new Audi A8, at least. A sketch of a headlight of the new Audi A8.
It looks good, doesn’t it? Of course, you could probably make a Suzuki Alto look pretty damn handsome in sketch form, but there’s plenty here to suggest that the next A8 – which goes on sale in the UK in early 2010 – will be a tidy little number. A tidy big number, rather.
There’s another picture of it, too. Under a sheet, hiding behind a man in a suit. This picture is helpful because it tells us that the new A8 is bigger than a man in a suit. And has LED lights.
Beyond that, we don’t know a whole lot more about the A8. It’ll feature the same lightweight aluminium spaceframe as the current car, but should grow by around 10cm in length.
Expect the V8 from the Audi R8 and the 3.0-litre V6 from the S4 to make an appearance in some guise, and there’s even talk of a frugal four-cylinder engine. The big 5.2-litre V10 should remain in the S8.
It could be a bit of a looker, too. Perhaps not as bold as the new Jaguar XJ, but certainly a whole bunch more distinctive than the current A8.
"The first generation [of the A8] was very dogmatic and product-design-like,” says Audi chief designer Stefan Sielaff. “With the second generation, the theme was 'elegance': softer, flowing lines. The upcoming third generation will be stronger, sharper, and more precise.”
We reckon it'll take more than a few cues from the A7 Sportback concept we saw at Detroit earlier this year - except, of course, for that hatched rear.
We’ll see the A8, shorn of its shroud and suited man, later this year.
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Erm..you can't say that based on a headlight actually...
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awesome front
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awesome front
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"softer, flowing lines" indeed; it looks like a set-square special from Audi.
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Radical...
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This is not a car. Its a Cylon Centurion. http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Cylon_Centurion_Model_0005
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The thing is, unless they've gone mad at the rear like Jaguar have, I already know basically what this car looks like. All Audis are the same to look at.
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From the little I can see of this thing I'm already quite interested. Nice little bit of design on both the grill and headlight. Provided they don't mess up the rest of the car I reckon there on to a looker.
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I like that angry look
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So this Audi will also have headlights inspired by Dame Edna Everage's glasses like the rest of the range?
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it coming more like a bmw 3 series
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The headlights look like they come from a citroen
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i pesonally really hope for this to be a good car. basicaly becuase i really like audi"s
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it looks menacing, like one of those serial killers that have fun stabbing you to death
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well the old one was nice and audis are certainly better looking than lexus
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500hp commented on this article
22 July 2009
wow it looks better than the r8 !!!!!!
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