New-gen Audi A8 to be unveiled in July

Audi has revealed that its flagship A8 will be unveiled at the first Audi Summit to be held in Barcelona on July 11th. After its first unveil, the new A8 (D5) will be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September before going on sale late this year.

The new generation A8 will spearhead the sedan family from Ingolstadt and will be based on Audi’s MLB Evo platform, which is an evolution of the MLB platform. Though the car will grow in size, it will be considerably lighter than the outgoing car. The design of the new A8 is expected to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary so as to carry on the manufacturer’s signature motif to its next generation of vehicle line-up. Some styling cues from the Audi Prologue Concept showcased two years back, is imminent.

However, the car will be equipped with all the high-tech autonomous hardware and an all new interior cabin. It will benefit from the new MIB2+ (Modular Infotainment Platform) and will feature the second-generation of Audi’s Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster. An updated Traffic Jam Assist feature will also be available as standard which can take over the driving responsibilities at the speeds up to 60kmph without any driver’s intervention.

Under the hood of the Luxo-barge will be similar powertrain options as the current car.  But apart from the regular petrol and diesel units, Audi will follow up the green-push with the introduction of a plug-in hybrid variant as well. A 4.0-litre V8 producing 460bhp could be joined by a 6.3-litre W12 pushing out 565bhp. The oil burners would include a 3.0-litre V6 with 270bhp and a 4.0-litre V8 belting out 405bhp. A more powerful S8 has already been spotted testing which could also employ a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Porsche Panamera.

When launched, the new gen A8 will continue its fray with the likes of BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Jaguar XJ.