When Audi wanted to succeed in the luxury class with the A8 28 years ago, people smiled mildly.

But it has long been established, the fourth generation of the limousine, which has always been produced in Neckarsulm, has been running since 2017 and has now been revised.

The core of the "product upgrade" is the design, says A8 project manager Frank Marschall.

There are new light graphics at the front and rear, the bumpers and the single-frame grille have been changed, as well as new wheel designs, new paint colors and, for the first time, the option of ordering the A8 in matt colors.

Boris Smith

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

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Little has changed in the various options for motorizing the big Audi.

There are five different drive units to choose from: two V6 cylinders with a displacement of three liters as petrol or diesel, two four-liter V8 petrol engines and a plug-in hybrid that combines the V6 petrol engine with an electric motor.

Here are the only technical changes, the power is now slightly increased, combined are just under 462 hp, while the other machines deliver 286, 340, 460 or 570 hp.

The respective peak torque values ​​are 600, 500, 700, 660 and 800 Newton meters, starting with the diesel, which is the weakest drive in terms of pure power.

All A8s reach a top speed of 250 km/h, all have all-wheel drive, air suspension and an eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF.

The machines also work together with a 48-volt mild hybrid system.

The V8 also have cylinder deactivation.

The Audi A8 TSFi e quattro now has an enlarged battery with a volume of 17.9 kWh, the standardized, purely electric range is 59 kilometers.

But plug-in pilots have to live with a smaller trunk, it only has a volume of 390 liters, while the 505 liters that are typical of the upper class are otherwise available.

The prices for the A8 start at just under 100,000 euros for the basic engines, the top model, the sporty S8 with its 570 hp, costs just under 150,000 euros.

There is a stately, almost 5.20 meters long luxury class sedan in a classic design that does nothing wrong.

If you want more space in the rear, you can order the long version for all engines, the wheelbase increases from three meters to 3.13 meters.

Only the S8 is not offered in the long version in this country, for America there is the long S8.

And for China, where 60 percent of all A8s are exported, there is a special treat: the big Audi grows to almost 5.50 meters as the A8 L Horch.

The traditional name Horch will be in Latin letters on the trunk lid and is intended to bring special prestige, since Horch was the luxury brand in Germany alongside Maybach until the Second World War.

Automobile historians know: the four rings in the Audi emblem stand for the Wanderer, DKW, Audi and Horch brands.

They formed Auto-Union in 1932.

100 years later, that seems certain, there will also be a purely electric Audi A8.

Although Audi is a little behind Mercedes-Benz (EQS) and BMW (i7) in this area, Frank Marschall promises the electric A8 for "the middle of the decade".

The Grandsphere study at the IAA in Munich gave a first glimpse of this.

Which probably means that the upcoming fifth generation of the A8 will also drive purely electrically.