Autoblog

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.


[Source: Gulf4Cars]

If you're buying an A8 this year, prepare to spend a lot of time getting to know your new MMI system. We have consistently thought that Audi's buttons-and-knob interface is the best, and it looks like they've put an entire NASA team on the job of making it better. A seven-inch TFT screen with 800x400 resolution is now controlled by an 8-position joystick. Moving from one screen to another is done via "elegant crossfades," which sounds a bit PowerPoint-ish, but we'll wait until we see it to judge. And among other improvements, navigational maps can be rendered in "birds-eye perspective" 3D, with topographical map coloration. The only thing missing is the Encyclopedia Britanica. You can check out the exhaustive press release after the jump.

[Source: Audi]

Audi has been tearing up the automotive landscape with a torrent of new products, and now it's cleaning up on the awards circuit, too. The European Patent Office awarded Audi as its third inventor of the year for its innovative new products that are helping Europe excel in the global market. The product worthy of such an award is Audi's aluminum space frame, which underpins the Audi A8, TT, R8, and Lamborghini Gallardo. The lightweight platform provides substantial weight savings vs. a traditional steel frame, which results in better fuel economy and a reduction in CO2. The space frame also provides improved structural rigidity and improved crash protection.

Hit the jump to view Audi's press release.

[Source: Audi]

The Audi Club of North America puts out a publication aptly titled the Quattro Quarterly that gives Audi owners the inside skinny on everything from future products to how to swap bigger brakes into their B5 S4. One of our intrepid readers, Kevin, sent us a few scans of the QQ's latest issue, where it outlines Audi's product plans for the next five years. While some of it has already been confirmed, other interesting factoids, including the future of the R8, RS-TT and the development of an R4, have long been rumored on these very pages. Follow the jump for the full breakdown on what Audi has in store, but be aware that we're handing out grains of salt below the fold.

With both Audi and Apple's minimalist design ethos, it was simply a matter of time before they joined forces and offered a way to integrate the new iPhone across the four-ringed lineup. Any Audi model equipped with Bluetooth will allow the iPhone to be paired with the vehicle, giving users the ability to make and receive hands-free phone calls, as well as providing a signal strength indicator, assigning specific names to numbers (Work, Home, etc.) and allowing access to call lists.

On the music front, the addition of the Audi Music Interface will give the vehicles MMI system direct control of all the iPod capabilities of the iPhone, allowing users to navigate everything from playlists to albums. The AMI is available as an optional extra on the A5, A6, A8 and Q7, although we'd expect the full line of Audi vehicles to allow integration sooner rather than later.

[Source: Audi]

Click image for photo gallery

Audi's delightful A8 flagship sedan sees a number of refinements made for the 2008 model year, with the lion's share of the attention being paid to things that aren't immediately visible from the outside. The biggest addition is the 2.8L FSI six-cylinder that will be offered (in Europe, at least), which will give the big sedan fuel economy of around 28 mpg and the lowest CO2 emissions in its class at 199g/km. Power is rated at 210bhp, and the engine is good enough to allow the big cruiser to make the 0-62 run in 8 seconds. More direct steering and a revised air suspension are intended to make the '08 A8 an even more engaging partner to the person behind the wheel. And it's not as if the '07 is a slouch in that department to begin with. Audi's also building in new safety features, with a side-assist system that will alert drivers when a vehicle is in the sedan's blind spots and a lane departure warning system that will keep an eye on lane markers and alert the driver with a vibration in the steering wheel should he or she begin to go astray. Finally, the car is said to quieter than the 2007 edition.

Visually, Audi has updated the single-frame grille, incorporated new lighting in back, added new wheel styles, put turn indicators on the outside mirrors, and will offer a number of new paint finishes. New interior colors and inlays are also on tap. In short, Audi's taking a good thing and making it better. You won't hear us complaining.

[Source: Audi AG]

Click image for high-res photo gallery

This edition of "In the Autoblog Garage" is brought to you by the letter S and the number 8. Alone, each is just another mundane alphanumeric character. When positioned next to each other on a vehicle bearing Audi's interlocking rings, however, they turn into something very special. The character pair becomes shorthand for 5.2 liters, 10 cylinders, 450 horses, 398 ft.-lbs., 4.9 seconds, 155 miles per hour, and $110,000+ in the case of the Daytona Grey Audi S8 tester that had been deposited in my driveway. Yep, it was going to be a pretty good week.

Following up the last post on the subject, Audi TV has launched on the internet, offering up original Audi content 24-hours a day, seven-days-a-week.

Magazine-type shows, from "behind-the-scenes" looks at vehicle launches to interviews with musicians and other Audi partners, pepper the web waves in both English and German for the enjoyment of Audi-philes across the world. Available at www.audi.com/tv and www.audi.de/tv, programming covers not just the cars themselves, but culture, sport, lifestyle and technology.

The effort is spearheaded by a small team at Audi AG in Germany and supported by various marketing, communications, sales, technology and design heads elsewhere throughout the company.

Check out Audi's press release after the jump.

Volkswagen's Phaeton could not exactly be described as a run-away success. The German carmaker planned to make a modest 20,000 units, but only managed to sell a quarter that amount. But someone in Wolfsburg must have gotten an "if at first you don't succeed" fortune cookie, and they're determined to give it another shot.

The next Phaeton, as we've reported previously, will save considerably on development costs by sharing its underpinnings with the next A6 from corporate cousin Audi. This, however, is no mere speculation: it comes straight from the mouth of CEO Martin Winterkorn. The end result will be a Phaeton smaller than the one it replaces, bringing costs down and bringing it slightly closer to the top-end Passat to help close the enormous gap in the Volkswagen model line-up.

The current slow-selling Phaeton cost Volkswagen a bundle to develop, but all was not lost as the platform ended up providing the basis for the more successful Bentley Continental range, with its coupe, cabrio and sedan variations. What will happen with the next Continental, you ask? Sources suggest that it will take its underpinnings from the latest Audi A8.

All in all this amounts to a change of direction for the German auto group, which has a history of investing heavily into new models which compete with offerings from their own subsidiaries.

[Source: Motor Authority]

To the average Joe, the base price of most German luxury sedans is enough to cause sticker shock. When adding options, prices could easily cause a coronary. A base Audi A8, for example, goes for about $69,000. If you opt for the A8L W12, the price leaps to $119,000. After you check the option box for 20-inch rims, the upgraded audio system, and adaptive cruise control, the price has officially left your league at $138,000.

There is one other option you can get for your A8, bullet-proofing. This $547,000 option can stop a 7.62 millimeter caliber bullet dead in its tracks. Fortified floor plating can nullify a hand grenade or IED. Also included is an emergency exit system. If the doors can no longer be opened normally, an Audi-patented pyrotechnic system simply blows apart the joins between the doors and the vehicle body and you walk out without even grabbing the door latch. The A8L W12 is certified to the highest European standard bullet-proofing classes B6+ and B7. Of course there's also a dual DVD screen and refrigerator with a bar for rear passengers so you can party in style even when you're being attacked.

This $685,000 A8 shown above is believed to have been ordered by German politician Edmund Stoiber. We don't know how well-received German politicians are, but it looks like they prepare for the worst. Find out more about the Audi A8L W12 Security after the jump.

Thanks for the tip Warren!

[Source: GermanCarScene]