The German company, Audi, is back with its flagship sedan boasting the highest standards of innovation and new tech features. Self-driving, mobile access and touch interface are set to position the A8 as the most technologically advanced car on the market.
The brand based in Ingolstadt has done it again by given its flagship model, the A8, a complete makeover, and placing it on the market with a new design line from Marc Lichte.
The 2018 version arrives on the market with a mechanical proposal that is initially limited to 3.0 V6, the diesel engine will give the driver 286 horsepower, and the petrol version is lifted to 340. Audi has also conceived a more efficient version for those seeking more efficiency and are more concerned about sustainability: the A8 e-tron plug-in hybrid.
This model will be the first of the brand’s to completely change the way the driver relates to the car. Audi is saying goodbye to its MMI infotainment system and replacing it with a tactile interface, and what’s more, apart from the buttons on the steering wheel, there are only five other physical buttons, with the only dial being the volume control.
The main screen acts just like a tablet, and when you press an icon you’ll hear a sound and it vibrates to let you know that the command has been carried out.
On the subject of autonomous driving, it must be said that the A8’s capacities are the most advanced on the market. Despite this, some characteristics are temporarily blocked as laws are currently not in line with the technological advances in this field.
When permitted, the A8 will offer level 3 (out of a total of 5) autonomous technological driving capabilities. This means you can let go of the steering wheel, take your eyes off the road, and forget about the pedals. However, you’ll still need to focus on the main screen to take back control when needed. In practice, this means you can watch a movie, and it if the car thinks you need to take back control, it pauses the movie.
The advanced self-parking feature is one of the most interesting developments and works in two modes. Remote Parking Pilot allows you park the car using a smartphone app from outside the car and the second is Remote Garage Pilot that autonomously steers the car in and out of a garage or parking space even if it’s not perfectly aligned. And, it stops if a person crosses the car’s path.
The animation created using the 360º vision camera is nothing short of spectacular, when the A8 is fully loaded it will have 40 assistance systems to avoid crashing into other cars at crossings, stop when there’s oncoming traffic when reversing, and it can also raise the sides of the body to minimise the impact on the passengers in the car if it detects an imminent collision.
