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The new Audi A8 moves upmarket and gains artificial intelligence

Audi is moving its largest sedan further up the luxury scale with the latest version of the A8. As Audi's flagship, the A8 naturally gets the best and newest technologies that the brand has to offer, including a range of mild-hybrid powertrains, a 48-volt electrical system, standard Quattro all-wheel drive, a lavish lounge-inspired interior, and automated driving systems. Two wheelbase lengths will be offered, the A8L getting a 5.1-inch stretch over the standard A8. The A8 also sets the style direction that the rest of Audi's lineup will emulate. While some of Audi's competitors will likely take umbrage at the claim that the A8 is "the first production automobile in the world to have been developed for highly automated driving," there are some new technologies for self-driving employed by Audi's flagship. At speeds of up to 37.3 miles per hour, the Audi AI traffic jam pilot takes control of starting, accelerating, steering and braking duties, allowing the driver to perform other tasks not related to driving... like watching the on-board TV, says Audi. Audi AI technology brings artificial intelligence to the A8. The AI system will presumably learn the driver's habits, likes, dislikes, and regular routes, and will make recommendations based on all that data. The Audi AI remote parking pilot and the Audi AI remote garage pilot perform exactly what you think based on their names, and the driver doesn't have to be in the car to make them work using a smartphone app. The 48-volt electrical system also exerts control over the A8's suspension. Not only can the system raise and lower each of the car's four wheels independently, it can position the A8 in a way to improve safety in an accident. Four-wheel steering with a variable ratio up front should make the big sedan stable at high speed and maneuverable at low speeds. Five engines will eventually be available in Audi's home market of Germany, and we'd assume some of those will come Stateside as well. Two 3.0-liter V6 engines – one gas and one diesel – will be optional at production time. The gas version puts out 340 horsepower. A gasoline-fed V8 will follow shortly thereafter with 460 horsepower, and a range-topping W12 will eventually be available with 585 horses. A belt alternator starter system is standard across the line. Later, an A8 L e-tron Quattro plug-in hybrid will hit the road with 449 total horsepower, 31.1 miles of electric range and a cool inductive wireless charging system.

Audi readying diesel PHEV models for US and Europe

With the racing pedigree provided by the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the German king of Le Mans is capitalizing on the connection between its road cars and race cars at every opportunity. Maybe there's an entire range of Le Mans Editions for the automakers diesel-hybrid offerings, with perhaps Tom Kristensen acting as the brand's spokesperson for the technology in Europe. You'd be wrong, though, because despite the R18's overwhelming successes in endurance racing, Audi the road-car manufacturer doesn't offer a single diesel-hybrid production car.
This factoid will hopefully be as short lived as it is disappointing, though, as a diesel-electric is around the corner, according to the brand's tech boss, Ulrich Hackenberg. In fact, it gets better than a mere diesel-hybrid; it will be a plug-in diesel-hybrid, only the second to hit the market, alongside the European-market Volvo V60.
According to Hackenberg, the new tech will be the result of a marriage between the brand's well-received 3.0-liter, TDI V6 with an electric motor. The next-generation Audi Q7 (shown above) will be the initial recipient, confirming previous reports that claimed a PHEV TDI could come to the next-gen CUV. Its MLB architecture, meanwhile, would allow the plug-in-hybrid-diesel powertrain to be fitted easily enough to the A8 luxury sedan. While the new Q7 should hit the market at some point in 2015, it's unclear when the PHEV TDI model could see the light of day.

Audi bringing all-electric CUV to Frankfurt

Audi will introduce a new, all-electric, MLB-based concept this September at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. According to CEO Rupert Stadler, production of the vehicle this concept foreshadows will eventually hit 10,000 units. Stadler isn't the only Audi exec dropping details on the company's high-riding EV. Research and development boss Ulrich Hackenberg let slip that the all-electric "sports activity vehicle," might be followed by both a gas-powered plug-in variant and hydrogen-fuel-cell model. According to Hackenberg, the production model will arrive in early 2018, cover about 310 miles per charge, and target the upcoming Tesla Model X. Look for more on this new model and the concept that will precede it as the Frankfurt Motor Show approaches. Related Video: