Audi A8 will reportedly morph right into a GrandSphere-inspired electrical flagship

The following-generation Audi A8 is across the nook, and a current report means that the large sedan is in for a spherical of revolutionary modifications. Allegedly provided solely with electrical energy, the flagship will get a extra streamlined design and much more horsepower than its predecessor.

With out citing sources, British journal Autocar wrote that the fifth-generation A8 will experience on a model of the Premium Platform Electrical (PPE) structure at present being developed collectively by Audi and sister firm Porsche. This is identical structure that may underpin the Q6 E-Tron and the second-generation Macan, although it will likely be stretched to function the inspiration for a 200-plus-inch-long sedan.

The publication provides that the PPE platform’s 800-volt structure will make the A8 appropriate with 270-kilowatt charging, and it speculates that the sedan could possibly be probably the most highly effective regular-production mannequin that Audi has ever launched. For context, the GrandSphere idea (pictured) introduced in 2021 as a thinly-veiled preview of the subsequent A8 used a pair of electrical motors (one per axle) whose mixed output checked in at 710 horsepower and 708 pound-feet of torque. Electrical energy will reportedly be saved in a 120-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery.

Talking of the GrandSphere, a lot of its defining styling cues will likely be carried over to the brand new A8, which means the sedan will ditch the three-box silhouette that has characterised it for the reason that authentic mannequin made its debut in 1994. “The GrandSphere is a really concrete teaser. It is not far-off from what is going to develop into manufacturing. It is not 1:1, but it surely’s very shut,” Marc Lichte, the top of Audi’s design division, mentioned in 2023.

Huge modifications will likely be discovered inside as properly. The following A8 will profit from the newest developments in semi-autonomous driving expertise, and its cabin will likely be configured accordingly. Digitalization will play a giant position in shaping the inside. Audi claims it designed the GrandSphere from the within out, which means with a give attention to passenger consolation, and it is cheap to imagine this considering will permeate the upcoming A8.

Audi hasn’t mentioned a lot in regards to the next-generation A8. If the report is correct, we must always be taught extra in regards to the flagship within the coming months.

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