Audi A8 2017: prices, specs and reviews

Audi A8 2017: New saloon will offer Level 3 autonomy

25 April

Audi's A8 luxury saloon will be capable of Level 3 autonomous driving, reports Autocar, allowing occupants "to relinquish full control… marking the first time this will be offered with a series production model".

Autonomous modes can be activated "at speeds of up to 37mph" on roads with physical barriers separating "both sides of traffic".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to Cnet, occupants will be given an eight to ten-second warning if the driver needs to retake the wheel and take over from the car's onboard computer.

Driverless technology is broken down into five categories. Level 1 offers drivers basic safety features, reports Wired, while Level 5 cars "can handle all driving tasks and go anywhere".

The A8's Level 3 puts it ahead of its competition, says Autocar. It's Mercedes S-Class rival will only offer Level 2 autonomy when it launches later this year.

On the S-Class, drivers will be able to "take their hands and feet off the controls" but will have to "continue looking at the road ahead"

The A8's autonomous features are also more advanced than Tesla's Level 2 Autopilot software, adds Cnet, where drivers must be ready to retake the wheel if needed.

Engineers at Audi say the added weight from the self-driving systems means they have had to develop a new, lightweight structure to minimise extra mass.

There's no price or release date for the A8 yet, although Audi is expected to reveal its latest flagship saloon in the summer.

Audi reveals lightweight construction of new A8 saloon

4 April

Audi has revealed the lightweight design methods behind its all-new A8, which will be launched later this year.

For the first time in an Audi vehicle, the space frame will be built from a hybrid of four materials - aluminium, steel, magnesium and carbon fibre.

Engineers say it has been developed to keep added mass to a minimum, as the demand for more in-car technology in the company's flagship saloon could have significantly increased the weight.

Around 58 per cent of the body work is made from aluminium, with steel being used for the car's A and B pillars. The strut brace, part of the suspension structure, is made from magnesium, resulting in a weight saving of 28 per cent.

The design also sees the introduction of a carbon fibre rear panel between the cabin and boot, allowing Audi to increase legroom in the back without compromising luggage space.

While the firm has focused on removing as much weight as possible, Autocar says the A8's body shell "weighs 61kg [112lbs] more than the outgoing model, at 282kg [622lbs] compared to 231kg [509lbs]".

It adds, however, that the new space frame has improved "dynamic stiffness" by 24 per cent, which should lead to "improved handling, steering and refinement."

AutoExpress reports that Audi will "introduce at least a plug-in hybrid version of the A8" and a range of autonomous technologies that "use 48-volt electrics to power an army of sensors".

There's no word on pricing nor powertrain details yet, but Audi is expected to unveil the new A8 in the summer.