(From right) Audi PH General Sales Manager Andrew Soqueno and Audi PH Managing Director Paolo Brambilla turn over the new Audi A8L to Second Secretary to the State of Qatar in Manila Abdullah Salem Al-Khowar.
If you’re looking for a stately ride that runs smoothly on the road with a quiet but mighty 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6 gasoline engine, look no further, because the refined Audi A8 L is here to deliver what you need.
The Audi brand, which is among Germany’s automotive royalty, considers the new A8 L a notable part of its stable. It features Audi’s trademark subdued exterior styling—which isn’t flashy or excessive—an opulent interior and top-notch precision and handling. This Audi sedan measuring 5.32 meters in length, 1.94 meters in width, and 1.48 meters in height, is a beast of a luxurious ride.
The A8 L’s hexagonal progressive grille and revised air inlet dominate this sedan’s front end, creating a dignified profile. The front grille is flanked by Audi’s revolutionary digital LED matrix headlights that, with the help of 1.3 million micromirrors, give out impressive light animations and useful light functions on each headlight, breaking down the light into tiny pixels.
Distinctive signatures
At the back is the A8 L’s newly designed progressive OLED taillights that display distinctive signatures based on the selected drive mode.
These OLEDs also serve as proximity indicators. When other road users approach the stationary A8 L from behind to within two meters, all of the OLED segments are activated automatically. They also serve as dynamic turn signals and produce “coming home” and “leaving hime” light sequences.
Each side of the luxury sedan is particularly eye-catching. Its stretched body lines emphasize length, while its chiseled wheel arches accentuate both the front and rear 21-inch cast aluminum wheels (10 Y-spoke “Evo” style) that reveal the German brand’s quattro all-wheel drive DNA.
Obvious choice
So it was no surprise that when Abdulla Salem S.S. Khowar, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Qatar in Manila, was looking for the best of German engineering that can be found in a sedan, he chose the A8 L.
The interior of the A8 L exudes elegance. Both front and rear seats that are wrapped in beautifully soft, top of the line Valcona leather, feature a 4-way pneumatic lumbar support as well as ventilation, heating and massage functions. The two individual rear seats offer numerous adjustment options and even have a power footrest. There’s also continuous center console with fold-out tables, four-zone deluxe automatic air-conditioning, and a cooler with a bar compartment.
The 10.1-inch full HD screen located in front of the rear seats can display content from any device and receive numerous audio and video streams via casting, including from well-known streaming platforms or TV media libraries.
To complete the experience, Audi has chosen the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System which reproduces even the most demanding Hi-Fi sound, bringing a satisfying 3D sound experience to those seated at the back.
The A8 L is also equipped with 1,920-Watt amplifier drives, 23 speakers and tweeter lenses that can be operated from the instrument panel. The rear seat remote, which is now firmly mounted at the center armrest, allows many comfort and infotainment functions.
It’s important for people to have time to relax while on the road, and for someone as busy as Second Secretary Abdulla Salem S.S. Khowar, the A8 L was indeed a perfect choice.
Predictive active suspension
What makes the A8 L a truly exceptional ride is its predictive active suspension that can load or unload each wheel with additional power via an electric motor. This feature allows the suspension to actively regulate the position of the chassis in any driving situation.
There are suspension modes that you can use. When the dynamic mode is on, the A8 L shows its sporty side: the sedan can turn into corners with ease, the roll angles are small, and the body hardly dips when braking. When in comfort+ mode, by contrast, the luxury sedan smoothly breezes over uneven road surfaces. In this setting, the steering works in conjunction with the front camera, allowing it to recognize certain road conditions within the system limitations and predictively regulates the actuators.
The A8 L’s predictive active suspension activates a special feature when using the comfort+ mode: an integrated curve tilting function that reduces the A8 L’s lateral acceleration, preventing the occupants to fully lean on the side when entering a curve. This is because this particular function elevates the side of the body on the outside of the curve and lowers the other side, thereby tilting it into the curve to up to three degrees. This means that at speeds between 80 and 130 km/h and lateral acceleration of up to 0.4g, cornering is barely noticed by the passengers.
To help occupants get in or out of the A8 L, the same predictive active suspension raises or lowers the sedan by up to 50 mm.
V6 turbo engine
The A8 L’s 3.0L TFSI-turbocharged V6 gasoline engine is paired to an 8-speed tiptronic transmission, enabling it to generate a maximum 340 hp and an impressive 500 Nm of torque. It gets to 100 km/h from standstill in just 5.7 seconds and can attain a top speed of 250 km/h.
The latest Audi A8 L may just be a refinement of the luxury model but it offers a lot to the niche buyers who put comfort at the top of their list. It also helps that this sedan has superb comfort-enhancing features and as a suite of digital innovations built for accessibility and convenience.
In all aspects, the A8 L’s level of sophistication is first-rate. For sure, this prestigious ride will never fail to make a statement on the road.
