Detroit 2010: Meet The New Audi A8

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Audi has unveiled its all-new A8 to the public in Detroit. And it’s not touted as a flagship luxury saloon for nothing - the new A8 is bursting with new, extremely fancy technology, albeit wrapped up in a very familiar looking body.

Let me guess, the A8 is bigger than before
Yes, the new A8 is bigger than the old car, and the current Merc S Class and BMW 7 Series for that matter, but its aluminium body means the A8 is lighter than the car it replaces. The adaptive LED headlights are lighter, more efficient and just plain cooler than the xenons you got before.

And how about the inside?
On the inside, Audi describes the new interior as “a wellness lounge for the senses”. Really. So you get lots of boating-themed design cues, like the gear lever which looks like it was borrowed from a posh powerboat, and beltline which is supposed to wrap around you as on a high-end yacht. Mood lighting, a new MMI system with handwriting recognition and a 1,400-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo feature too.

What's under the bonnet?
From launch, you’ll be able to get your A8 with a 372hp 4.2-litre FSI petrol or 350hp 4.2-litre TDI diesel V8 – with 800Nm of torque!) connected to an eight-speed auto box and quattro four-wheel-drive. Go for the oil burner as it’s quicker from 0-62mph than the petrol engine and gets the excellent sport differential from the S4 for a sharper drive.

Later, there’ll be a 250hp 3.0-litre diesel with stop start, and then later even than that, Audi will add a headline-grabbing 204hp version of that engine. This car will be the A8 e, and comes with front-wheel-drive only and manages 47.1mpg and 159g/km.

Anything else?
Last but not least, the A8 sees the debut of Audi’s pre sense safety system which comes in three levels. First, there’s pre sense basic, which works out when you’re emergency braking and activates the hazard warning lights, closes the side windows and the sunroof and tenses up the front seat belts.

Next, you get pre sense front, which gives the driver warnings about their impending impact and assists the driver by adjusting braking power relative to the obstruction in front.

Finally you get pre sense plus which auto brakes the car, and also features pre sense rear, which moves the front seats forward to better protect rear seat passengers.

The new A8 goes on sale in the UK next March, with the petrol V8 costing £61,640.00, the V8 diesel costing £63,690.00 and the 3.0 diesel £54,760.00. Few.