2017 Audi A8 – Role-Model for All and Every Luxury Car

Available on the market for quite some time now, the A8 will receive a complete redesign next year. The 2017 Audi A8 will be the first car to be designed by Audi’s new chief designer, so we expect to see quite a few changes. With this, Audi said that their cars are no longer going to be so similar to each other and in fact, all of them will receive their own unique look. Hopefully this will happen, and finally, the German carmaker will give distinguishing looks to their cars across the lineup. While a bit overdue at this point, we are glad they finally took this decision. The new A8 will be based on the same MLB Evo platform as the latest Q7. However, in the A8 the platform will use more exquisite materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber. The result should be a 4 to 6% lighter car than before with a lot more structural rigidity.

This should help them deliver a much better driving experience in every way, and it might finally allow them to compete with Mercedes regarding comfort and quietness. However, until the new car is released in the upcoming months, we can’t say much else about this. We do know that the price will go up now that the A6 will become a more premium car. This move has been expected for some time, especially since the A8 was one of the cheaper cars in its class.
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MDarringer - 7/28/2016 10:28:59 AM

+1 Boost

Assuming the prototype is wearing final sheet metal there is nothing remarkable about it.

TheSteve - 7/28/2016 10:37:39 AM

+1 Boost

I'm remarking that the Hyundai Elantra grill is not working for me.

Dexter1 - 7/28/2016 12:21:46 PM

0 Boost

Looks like Audi is trying to "out grill" Lexus. That's a shame.

MDarringer - 7/28/2016 3:20:07 PM

+2 Boost

Given how close it is to being revealed, it has to be in its final body by now in order for proper testing to occur.

TomM - 7/28/2016 3:33:49 PM

+3 Boost

Even if it is not close to the final body - it makes no difference - Audi is a second tier premium car - competing with Volvo, Buick and Lexus - not with BMW and Mercedes. Audi simply does not elicit the prestige that Mercedes does -and it is NOT one of the cheaper cars in its class - it is probably the most expensive in the second tier.

THe problem clear for Audi - most of the cars it sells are small sports sedans - based on VW components. While VW tried to take the VW brand upmarket from entry level - they failed miserably because of the lack of reliability and current Audi reliability diminishes rapidly after the first three years as well.

When the Audi 5000 first came out - it did not compete with the top end - and trying to imply that Audi somehow has reached that level of panache is simply comical.Worse - they still use the DeNysschen based alpha-numerics for their models - and since most of their models look alike - they really don't need model designations anyway.

cidflekken - 7/28/2016 6:24:20 PM

+3 Boost

Excuse me for being rude, but you are seriously delusional. You seriously are reaching for something here. Brand new headlights, brand new taillights. Both headlights and taillights wrap around into the front and rear fenders unlike the current model. Brand new grille. And you think this is the current A8 body shell just riding on a new platform and we're this close to intro? Denial at its finest. I am seriously hoping that you are GermanNut's covert login because if there are two of you out there, then that's troubling.

GermanNut - 7/28/2016 9:31:11 PM

+2 Boost

TomM, do you have any proof of your claim, "Audi is a second tier premium car - competing with Volvo, Buick and Lexus - not with BMW and Mercedes." You are stating your opinion without providing any factual evidence to support your claim.

delan - 7/28/2016 9:43:22 PM

+2 Boost

Well that took care of that hypothesis..

GermanNut - 7/28/2016 9:47:10 PM

+2 Boost

In every conceivable category, Audi matches or exceeds its competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Whether it's sales (Audi was ahead of Mercedes-Benz globally last year), interior quality (routinely praised across all publications), technology (again praised with features like Virtual Cockpit, Google Maps, etc.), performance models (RS cars more than hold their own), price (the leases are more expensive than many comparable BMWs and the MSRP for newer models like A4 and Q7 are higher than comparable BMWs), reliability (ranked higher in Consumer Reports and J.D. Power dependability), income of buyers (higher on average than BMW).

"The problem clear for Audi - most of the cars it sells are small sports sedans - based on VW components."

And Mercedes-Benz is partnering with Nissan and Renault - hardly considered luxury brands:

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/daimler-and-renault-nissan-announce-global-partnership-car-news

BMW and Toyota (yes the basic brand that owns Lexus) partner as well:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bmw-toyota-may-deepen-alliance-1442308545

"While VW tried to take the VW brand upmarket from entry level - they failed miserably because of the lack of reliability and current Audi reliability diminishes rapidly after the first three years as well."

You obviously didn't bother to do any research before making your incorrect claims:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles/

http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2016-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds

People that post such baseless claims lose all credibility.

2ndbimmer - 7/30/2016 9:56:48 AM

+1 Boost

I don't know why anyone is praising the interior. I get it, its subjective. I have yet to ever be in an Audi and thought it was a nice interior. Maybe because every interior is a Jetta and Audi is laughing its way to the bank. BMW sold more certified pre-owned vehicles in the US than Audi did new and used vehicles. So don't get your numbers quoting panites in a bunch.
I sat in an A7 the other day, it was the worst interior I have ever seen. Should be a $30k car. You have the get the S7 or RS7 to get a decent interior. I have yet to drive an Audi I liked. All of my friends have purchased Audis and have gone right back to BMW.