With a refresh off the desk, it’s nonetheless unclear what kind of platform or powertrain the next-generation Audi A8 will make the most of.
It’s no secret that sedans simply aren’t quite as popular as they used to be, typically, and that even contains these competing on this planet of luxurious vehicles. It wasn’t that way back when a luxurious sedan was a literal status symbol, with a range-topping mannequin like the Audi A8 signaling to the world that one had actually arrived. Shoppers as of late now gravitate towards crossovers and SUVs instead, which has led to the demise of many sedans – and that might embrace the Audi A8, as its future is outwardly in limbo.
Based on Automotive News, manufacturing of the current-generation Audi A8 is slated to finish in late 2026, however apparently, there are not any concrete plans as to what’s going to substitute it. Beforehand, Audi deliberate on utilizing the identical platform destined for Porsche’s K1, a three-row flagship crossover that was initially deliberate to launch as an EV-only mannequin in 2027. Now, nevertheless, these plans have modified, and the K1 will as an alternative arrive in some unspecified time in the future within the 2030s with ICE and PHEV powertrain choices.
That pivot – coupled with usually weak demand for EVs – has Audi trying to find a brand new structure to underpin the next-generation A8, which was beforehand slated to be provided solely in pure electrical type, each as a sedan and crossover code-named Landyacht and Landjet, respectively. Now, the model is again to the proverbial drafting board, and is reportedly contemplating a brand new Audi A8 with a gasoline engine, although it wouldn’t doubtless arrive earlier than the tip of the last decade.
Within the meantime, a refresh for the prevailing Audi A8 has been dominated out, based mostly on the truth that upgrading its MLB evo platform – which debuted in 2017 – in order that it might probably meet stricter emissions guidelines and different rules is reportedly too value prohibitive. In the meantime, gross sales of the A8 have confirmed dismal as of late, lagging far behind its chief rivals, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Collection – which is exactly the explanation Lexus has opted to discontinue the LS.
Thus, Audi is reportedly contemplating just a few completely different potentialities for the A8, a few of which might merely function a stop-gap earlier than the sedan receives a extra complete redesign. These embrace utilizing the also-old MSB platform underpinning fashions just like the Porsche Panamera and Bentley Continental, the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) slated to underpin the forthcoming Audi Q7 and Q9, and even the Premium Platform Electrical (PPE) used within the Audi A6 e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and Porsche Macan EV.
Which path the Audi A8 in the end heads in stays to be seen, however some kind of resolution is predicted earlier than the tip of this fall – at which level we’ll hopefully be taught extra about the way forward for this as soon as standard flagship sedan.
Photographs: Audi
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