Audi A8: Five technological marvels

The Audi A8 in its fourth generation is a benchmark for Vorsprung Durch Technik, packing with it a new design language, an innovative touchscreen operating concept and a systematically electrified drive. Although India never got the highly sophisticated Traffic Jam Pilot (TJP) and other such radar based driver assistance systems, it has still got some really cool gadgets and impressive mechanical features. Here are five of the many features that make the A8 stand out from the rest:

1. Intelligent Quattro:

All-wheel drive system comes as a standard in the Audi A8 and for a car that weighs 2.7 tonnes, the quattro really gives it the oomph factor in terms of acceleration. The quattro has always been a very iconic setup for Audi. The A8 comes with a 3-litre turbo petrol V6 making a 340bhp and 500Nm of torque and also features a 48V mild-hybrid system. Couple that to the quattro and you’ve got yourself an incredibly quick mile-muncher at the tap of your right foot.

2. Dynamic all-wheel steering:

Rear-wheel steering isn’t new, but the A8’s system has an impressive level of performance. The rear wheels can pivot up to five degrees in the opposite direction of the fronts at low speeds. It’s also coupled with variable-ratio steering, meaning that in parking situations, far fewer steering inputs are required than normal. It makes the car feel much shorter. The system shrinks the new A8’s turning circle by three feet compared to the previous gen A8. Now that’s quite an improvement.

3. Active air suspension:

The active air suspension on the A8 uses an electric actuator at each corner of the suspension to raise or lower that wheel independently. The system allows for active anti-roll, anti-pitch, and anti-dive. It also goes one step further by using those wheel actuators to raise or lower the suspension in anticipation of bumps, further smoothing out the car’s ride quality. The system gets its input from a forward-facing camera that operates at 18 frames per second, evaluating the road surface ahead to create a virtual map of upcoming obstacles and commanding the suspension to move appropriately. However, the best part according to me is the intelligent suspension, that helps you ingress/egress by rising by upto 1.6-inch when you open a door. It then lowers 10 seconds after the door is closed. 1.6in may not sound like much, but I think it’s a really cool feature!

4. Mitigating lateral impacts:

Safety is of utmost importance; especially in a flagship saloon that also acts as a halo product. Accidents are always a possibility especially in our conditions but the A8 has you covered even in the case of a side impact. When the car detects an impending collision, it quickly raises the ride height by 3.1 inches, thus lowering the oncoming vehicle’s impact. The lower rail below the doors have crumple zones which are much stronger than the door panels themselves, thus limiting the impact.

5. HD Matrix and laser headlights:

Each headlight in the Audi A8 is fitted with 138 LEDs that can be individually turned on and off. That allows for cornering illumination. The A8 doesn’t just take input from the steering wheel but also from the navigation systems. When you approach a corner, the navigation system will help guide light around the corner before you even start to steer. The high beam also automatically dims the portion of the light that falls on the oncoming driver so that the oncoming traffic isn’t left dazzled. Perhaps the coolest illumination is the laser headlight option. After a certain speed, the laser even illuminates to double the distance you can see with the high beams on.

Have we missed on any feature? Which is your favourite feature on the Audi A8? Write to us @evoIndia on social media channels or post your comments below.