Audi A8

Audi A8 at a glance

Audi A8 generations compared

The spread of power widened with every generation, and the top version went from 309 kW in the D2 W12 to 445 kW in the D4 S8 Plus, a gain of about 44 %. Every engine and version is listed with its data in our Audi catalogue.

D2 (1994–2002): the aluminium space frame

The first A8 started with an agreement Ferdinand Piëch signed with the aluminium maker Alcoa in 1982. Development cost about US$700 million. The ASF concept car appeared at the 1993 Frankfurt show, the production car was presented in February 1994 and shown at Geneva in March, and full production began in June 1994. North America followed in October 1996 with the 1997 model year.

Even with quattro and the 4.2 V8 the car weighed about 1,750 kg; the 2.8 version weighed 1,540 kg. The long-wheelbase A8 L added 127 mm of rear legroom. Equipment kept growing: stability control and side airbags in 1997, curtain airbags in 1999 and tyre-pressure monitoring in 2002. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder chose an A8 as his official car in 1998.

The W12 arrived in 2001 and cost about 212,000 DM, roughly €108,000 at the fixed conversion rate; automobile.at puts the number built at 750, other sources at 650. The last D2 left the line on 4 August 2002 as car number 105,092. Audi's own story is told in our history of Audi.

D3 (2002–2010): MMI, air suspension and the V10 S8

The second A8 was previewed by the Avantissimo concept of 2001 and launched in Europe in November 2002, in the United States in June 2003. It introduced the MMI control system, four-wheel adaptive air suspension, bi-xenon headlights with curve lighting and a fingerprint scanner for driver recognition. A six-speed Tiptronic replaced the five-speed, and from 2005 the single-frame grille appeared, first on the W12.

Engines ranged from a 2.8 V6 FSI with 154 kW to a 6.0 W12 with 331 kW and 580 Nm. Diesels became serious options: the 4.2 TDI gave 240 kW and 650 Nm and reached 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The S8 of June 2006 to September 2009 used a 5.2-litre V10 FSI with 331 kW and 540 Nm, and could be ordered with carbon-ceramic brakes. An A8 L W12 also became well known as the hero car of the Transporter films.

D4 (2009–2017): MLB, eight speeds and Matrix LED

The third generation was unveiled at Design Miami on 30 November 2009 and sold in Germany from autumn 2010. It moved to the MLB platform while keeping the aluminium body, and every engine came with the ZF eight-speed automatic. Full LED headlights were available, and the D4 later offered Matrix LED, the first digitally controlled glare-free LED high beam in a production car. A facelift followed at the 2013 Frankfurt show.

The hybrid used a 1.3 kWh battery and could drive up to 3 km on electricity alone. The 6.3 W12 was Audi's last W12 and ended with the 2018 model year. In Germany the D4 cost from €145,200 at the end of November 2015.

D5 (2017–2026): 48-volt mild hybrid and the Level 3 plan

Audi presented the fourth A8 on 11 July 2017 at its first Audi Summit in Barcelona, and deliveries began in November 2017. Every engine works with a 48-volt belt starter-generator, so the car can coast with the engine switched off. The body now combines aluminium with more high-strength steel, and the active suspension has an electric actuator at each wheel; if a side impact is imminent, it can lift the body by up to 8 cm.

The D5 was prepared for a Level 3 traffic-jam pilot that would let the driver take hands off the wheel on motorways up to 60 km/h. In April 2020 Audi said it would not activate the function in this generation because the legal approval was still missing. After a 2021 update, China received an A8 L Horch with a wheelbase 130 mm longer than the A8 L. On 18 February 2026 Audi stopped taking new orders in Germany and confirmed that a successor is in development.

A8 L, W12 and the armoured A8 Security

The long-wheelbase A8 L has been part of every generation, adding 127 mm in the D2 and 120 mm of rear legroom in the D3. The W12 engine belonged mostly to the A8 L: 6.0 litres and 309 kW in 2001, 331 kW in the D3 and 6.3 litres with 368 kW in the D4. For heads of state and businesses Audi built the A8 L Security with armoured bodies; the 2011 W12 Security reached 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds despite its weight and was limited to 210 km/h.