2018 Audi A8 Spotted During Cold Weather Testing

Early this year we told you that Audi had started testing the new generation A8 sedan. In fact, back in May, we even shared the some of the first spy images of the 2018 Audi A8. Now with the winter at its peak, the Ingolstadt-based carmaker has started off with cold weather testing of the new generation Audi A8 sedan. In fact, this time a small fleet of test mules were caught on the camera.

A post shared by Audi A8 (@audi__a8) on Aug 17, 2016 at 11:44am PDT

The Audi A8 Spotted in May 2016

Audi is expected to introduce the new A8 towards the end of 2017 as a 2018 model and the car will come with significant design upgrades compared to the outgoing model along with a host of new features. The new Audi A8 is built on the company's latest MLB2 platform and is from the D5 generation. In fact, it shares its underpinnings with the current generation Audi A4, the new Audi Q7 and the Bentley Bentayga

2018 Audi A8 Front

Like the previously spied test mule, these too were heavily camouflaged, but under all those wraps, you could still tell that the car is almost production ready. A closer look at the test mules will tell you that the new A8 share quite a few similarities with the stylish Prologue concept revealed a little over two years ago.

2018 Audi A8 Side Profile

While in terms of dimensions, the new A8 isn't expected to be much different from the outgoing model, the car will come with a slightly longer wheelbase, which makes it look longer. This also means more space inside for the incumbents. The car will sport a new design language which will also be seen in the new A7 and A6. Despite the camouflage, you can make out that the front profile of the car is different with those redesigned overhangs, new front bumper, new grille design, and restyled headlamps. The side profile shows the slightly sloping roofline, standard alloy wheels, which are probably used for testing purpose only, and the new sleeker ORVMs.

2018 Audi A8 Rear

As for the cabin and other features, the new A8 will come with new upholstery, the company's popular virtual cockpit, MMI infotainment system, which is likely to get gesture control support and an OLED screen. The car is also expected to get an optional traffic-jam pilot system that will enable the new Audi A8 to drive itself at speeds of up to 60 km/h but only on highways.

As for powertrain options, the 2018 Audi A8 is expected to get the company's latest 6.0- litre, W12, Bi-Turbo engine churning out about 600bhp and a peak torque of 900Nm, which currently does duty on the newly launched Bentley Bentayga. In India though, we expect Audi's new flagship car to be launched towards the end of 2018. Once launched the car will go up against the likes of the new BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Image Source: Motor1