Audi A8 Caught Testing In India; Launch In 2018

Audi has not shied away from introducing its cars in the Indian market. In fact, this year itself Audi brought in 10 products to the country and the number will either remain the same or be increased next year too. So, when Audi showcased the fourth generation of the A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, we knew it was coming to India soon. While we still can't put a date to the launch of the car in India, we can surely say that it will hit the Indian markets by mid-2018.

Also Read: New-Generation Audi A8 Luxury Sedan Spotted Testing In India

That said, Audi has already started collecting data on how the car performs on Indian roads. A test mule of the new generation A8 was caught testing in India and well, we really like the way it looks. Audi calls it an evolutionary design so, yes, there's a lot that it shares with its predecessor but the wider front grille and the low shoulder line actually bring out a bit of aggression to the stance of the car. The new A8 also gets a very distinct front daytime running light design combined with the matrix laser headlamps. At the rear are a set of OLED tail lamps which have a really cool lighting pattern. The end-to-end design pattern on the tail lamps might eventually become a signature Audi design and we'll see it on other cars from the manufacturer as well.

(The new A8 gets a very distinct front daytime running light design combined with the matrix laser headlamps)

Inside, the Audi A8 features a simple cockpit design and a very horizontally oriented dashboard. The Audi A8 features screen based controls for most of the functions. These screens also turn off and integrate into the black surface giving the A8 a very minimalist design language. The gloss black surfaces on the interior are complimented with a high mounted wood accent piece that runs across the dashboard and into the side panels. One of the other signature features of the new A8 is the new steering wheel design, the likes of which we haven't seen before. The uniquely styled steering wheel is complimented by steering mounted touch controls and silver accents.

Also Read: India Bound New Audi A8 Luxury Sedan Unveiled

Under the hood, the A8 comes with two V6 turbocharged engines - the 3.0-litre TDI which punches out 281 bhp and the 3.0-litre TFSI petrol which is good enough for 335 bhp. While it's expected that India will get both the engine options, we expect the diesel to be the choice of the buyers.

The A8 is the company's first production car to feature autonomous tech and it is the first car in the automobile industry to reach Level 3 autonomy. However, while we can't wait to have all these technologies make their way to India, we'll have to wait a little longer for these driver assist features to make their way here.