Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Audi
Forum find: 2010 Audi A8?
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Click above for a gallery of possible 2010 Audi A8 images
The Audi A8 is understated and elegant...but its design is a little long in the tooth. It stays as is for model year 2009, but a significant revision is due for 2010, and we should expect to see that car unveiled sometime during the upcoming show season. Thanks the Gulf4Cars forum, we might have our first look at what to expect. Our Arabic's a little rusty, so we don't know where these scans (at least they appear to be scans) came from, but they look fairly solid, so let's comment on what we can see.
Gallery: 2010 Audi A8?
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[Source: Gulf4Cars]
Assuming they're accurate (far from guaranteed), the photos (or 'chops) show an evolutionary exterior design -- no surprise, as the A8's a good-looking car. Up front, the gigunda shield grille is bookended by new-look headlamps that follow the lead of the 2009 A4. Down low, the side intake/fog lamp housings are reshaped as well. Out back, the taillamps ape the ones found on the A4, A5, and revised A6 -- a move that ensures the family resemblance is maintained straight through the lineup.
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Inside, there are some immediately noticeable changes. Yes, the design themes are typical Audi fare, but the control arrangement has been rethought. A restyled shifter is now located farther back and closer to the driver on the center console. It looks kinda lonely there now, because the main MMI controller and audio functions have been relocated to the angled console extension under the climate controls -- where the ashtray lives on the current car. It'll be interesting to see how this works in practice, because while the audio and MMI interface placements in the current A8 family may seem unorthodox, they're actually easy to use.
We'll keep you posted as more info on the next-gen A8 trickles out in the weeks and months to come, when it'll become obvious whether these images are legit or not. Thanks for the tip, Anwar.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
SloopJohnB 2:14PM (9/28/2008)
Only problem is the MMI where it WILL get liquid spilled on it.
The new A4 moved the MMI onto the dash...
spilled MMI's are NOT covered under warranty!!!
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Johnnie 2:34AM (9/29/2008)
Not true.
The MMI only comes on the dash when not equiped with the Nav package.
thorz 2:30PM (9/28/2008)
These pictures are taken from the german "AutoBild" and about 1 week old.
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catchmyshadow 3:15AM (9/29/2008)
clearly photoshop-ped, FAKE
Todd 2:31PM (9/28/2008)
The shape is okay, but certainly nothing new and exciting. I still HATE the Audi grills! As for the interior, I don't like the way the center console meets the dashboard at all...
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FFS 9:16PM (9/28/2008)
its the A8 ! what new and exciting thing do you see in a rolls , 7 series, jaguar... ? look at the atrocities BMW did when they tried to make the 7 exciting
art 2:34PM (9/28/2008)
nah. i say it's just a chop. it's too downmarket looking for the 8's class.
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aman 6:35PM (9/28/2008)
Maybe it's the 2010 A6 or even A7?
Kumail 2:36PM (9/28/2008)
i like it...
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octoberasian 2:38PM (9/28/2008)
There is something about that dash and steering wheel that screams fake because of how 90s it looks like.
The exterior looks really good however. It's just the interior I'm having a hard time trying to swallow.
Any possibility of getting higher resolution scans from the "Autobild" magazine that another poster mentioned?
(If it indeed came from that magazine.)
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Hike15 3:02PM (9/28/2008)
no way in hell thats the sterring wheel...it doesnt have radio controls or cruise controls which any car in this class must have
but i do like the look of the rest, although i still think its all fake...
Andrew L 3:12PM (9/28/2008)
I'm not a fan of that Nav screen, it looks cheep just sitting there like that
octoberasian 4:47PM (9/28/2008)
Compare the steering wheel there to the current model here:
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/07/s8garage_ji157.jpg
I knew there is something not right with it. Completely different steering wheels.
This looks like a very good Photoshop save for the exterior, unless that's pre-rendered too.
AudiFan 6:31PM (9/28/2008)
It's a base-level A3 steering wheel.
Not sure how it found its way onto its big brother...
Brandon 2:53PM (9/28/2008)
it's o.k. there's not much to it......
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stealthebeatles 3:14PM (9/28/2008)
The back end kind of reminds me of an Infiniti M sedan.
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Level 5 3:15PM (9/28/2008)
This is probably just a photoshop, but I'd say it seems in the same ballpark as Audi's most recent lines.
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Xander 3:17PM (9/28/2008)
Oh man that grill is so fugly it likely will make it into production. UGGH!
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Torrent 6:34PM (9/28/2008)
I agree.
I like Audi's grilles, but this one is just obnoxiously huge.
Soccer Mom 3:18PM (9/28/2008)
Audi constantly improved on their interiors, keeping the overall "Audi" feel to them. The latest iterations of such, i.e. A4 and A5, moved away from spartan and bland looks into a simple, yet subtle and tasteful territory. It makes difficult for me to believe that with the significant improvements in low-end models Audi will allow to have such unappealing and broken-looking center console in its flagship.
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