Audi A8 facelift arrives with more luxury, larger grille and S Line

-          India-bound in LWB guise

-         New hybrid tech part of the update

Audi’s flagship offering might have changed from the R8 to the RSQ8, but the quintessential Luxo-barge, the A8, is here to stay. A mid-life update for the A8 is the best what the German carmaker has on offer currently, and some more. 

You might criticise BMW’s grown grille all you want, but the Audis aren’t too far in the matter. The updated A8’s grille is larger than before and has comprehensively different trinkets instead of the traditional louvres. As with all new Audis, the headlamps are new yet they look unchanged. More importantly, each headlamp now houses 1.3 million ‘micromirrors’ that break the light down into tiny pixels. 

At the back, there are OLEDs (organic LEDs) with newer lighting signatures. Part of the update are newer paint schemes including matte and metallic finishes. There are also newer alloy wheel designs to choose from while the different exterior packages will be offered for a more personalised appeal.

There are subtle changes to the cabin which sees the inclusion of a newer Virtual Cockpit with a larger screen along with the newest operating system for the centre touchscreen. Two new screens are also provided for the rear passengers along with 1,920 Watt, 23 speakers Bang and an Olufsen sound system. Changes on the inside are very difficult to put a finger on, but there are many little additions to make the A8’s cabin more luxurious than before – as if the previous one wasn’t luxurious enough. 

For the first time since 1994, there’s an S Line for the A8 that sits below the powerful S8 version. Engine options include the usual 3.0TFSI and 4.0TFSI in various states of tune, apart from diesel and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Audi hasn’t said anything about the pompous W12 being offered yet.

What we are interested in is the A8L Horch which is currently China-specific. But since we only get the LWB version of the A8 in India, we could hope to receive the tributary named version that sits at a stately 5.45 meters (5.1 inches longer than the ‘standard’ A8L). Apart from longer legroom for rear passengers, the A8L Horch offers thicker floormats, ‘Horch’ embossed cushions, diamond quilt upholstery, wooden trims and two-tone paint scheme – something like the Maybach version of the S. 

We could expect the updated Audi A8 to make its India debut sometime next year to attract the connoisseurs who’d be looking at the Three-Pointed Star offerings.