2011 Audi A8 L
The new Audi A8 is a concentrated high-tech package that confirms the Audi claim to technical leadership – “Vorsprung durch Technik”.
And now the brand is introducing the top version of its flagship model. The Audi A8 L W12 quattro, with a long wheelbase and a twelve-cylinder engine, sets new standards of luxury, dynamism and efficiency in the top automobile manufacturing league.
The Audi A8 L is being launched with a twelve-cylinder engine, but by the end of the year will be available with all the engines currently offered for the A8.
What’s fascinating about the Audi A8 L is its supremely powerful presence; its design is clearly derived from the brand’s genes and yet has undergone further refinement.
The long wheelbase does not disturb its taut outlines, which remain as athletic as they are elegant.
With an overall length of 5,267 millimeters (17.28 ft), the new Audi A8 L is 130 mm (0.43 ft) longer than the regular version.
The wheelbase has grown by the same amount, to 3,122 mm (10.24 ft). The width remains unchanged at 1,949 mm (6.39 ft); the height has increased by 2 mm (0.08 in) to 1,462 mm (4.8 ft). Audi’s new top model is both longer and wider than its main long-wheelbase competitors.
The Audi A8 L has a body built from aluminum using the Audi Space Frame (ASF) principle and therefore weighing about 40 percent less than a comparable steel body. The ASF body structure is built up from cast elements, extruded sections and sheet aluminum, with integral B-posts made from form-hardened ultra-high strength steel.
This body’s tremendous rigidity is the key to the car’s precise handling, low interior noise levels and high passive safety for the occupants in the event of an accident.
