Middle of a year always has been a strong point for car launches in Indian automobile industry especially for the luxury car makers like Audi, BMW etc. Probably this is the reason Audi is in process to bring the updated version of its luxury A8 L (long wheelbase). The facelift model has been caught testing many times in Mumbai already and expected to hit the floor in May of this year 2014.
Note: The mentioned facts here are yet to be confirmed by the company and hence could be changed by the launch.
Price:
The luxury brand is expected to give a price tag of around 1.1-1.8 Crore to this A8 L facelift, though it’s just tentative yet.
Engine details:
The car is expected to share the same engine options of the ongoing Audi A8L. The ongoing luxury sedan is powered by 3.0 liter TDI and 4.2 liter TDI engines under diesel trims while on the contrary, 4.2 liter TFSI and 6.3 liter TFSI under petrol. Though, it is being said that these engines have been refined in this facelift model with improved power as well as torque to make the sedan more fuel efficient than before.
The all engines will be mated to same 8-speed automatic transmission and gets 4WD (four-wheel-drive system) to deliver power to all four-wheels.
Space & Dimension:
The updated A8L luxury sedan is 5267mm in length, 1949mm in width and 1471mm in height which also carries the amazing wheelbase of 3122mm to justify the long wheelbase tag in its name. The car boot is said to be increased by 10 liters and hence facelift A8 L’s boot space is of 510 liters over the 500 liters of predecessor.
Interior & Exterior:
Along with entire features of ongoing A8 L, the facelift version also rumored to get a new wood trim and leather trim to give the sedan a refreshed look. Other than this, it might be designed with improved night vision camera, new 3-spoke steering wheel active lane assist, heads-up display, park assist etc.
The outside profile seems to get a li’l tweaks with updated matrix LED headlights, refined bumpers, modified single framed grille and possibly many more.
Verdict:
The strategy behind this renovation is obvious and that is to give the sedan a 2014 look and also to increase its sales graph. In India, it will possibly compete with Jaguar XJ, Mercedes-Benz S-class, BMW 7-series etc. Among these premium luxury sedans, BMW’s and Mercedes-Benz’s cars are locally assembled which gives them a price benefit too while on the other side, Audi and Jaguar import there models via CBU route which automatically results as hike in their price tags.
