[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

fake exhaust, pumped in faux "engine noises", electronic steering...WHERE DOES IT END MAN?!

Electric cars, duh.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

BMW truly, royally, f*cked up with the new 7er. It's a snooze-fest inside and out. Completely forgettable.

This A8, while certainly understated, is way more compelling/interesting than the 7-series. The S-class and upcoming Lexus LS are too. BMW is in last place 1 yr into production of their flagship, ouch.

The 7er is always the lamest of the batch. MB could build a pedal car that would be cooler than the 7er.

[infinitekidM2C]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Electric cars, duh.

[hellrotm]

That interior is amazing.

[NFiftyWon]

Alpina B7 blows this thing out of the water.. sorry audi.. does look more attractive than the boring s class though

[NFiftyWon]

Originally Posted by smrtypants44

nope this is worse. At least the MB/Lexus/BMW ones have exhaust flowing through it, this exhaust is a turn down behind the bumper. What's in the bumper is blocked off with plastic.

SQ5:

And i thought the challegner square ones were bad.. oml

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

The 7er is always the lamest of the batch. MB could build a pedal car that would be cooler than the 7er.

The E38 and even the E65 Bangle (post-LCI) were very handsome cars inside and out that were class leaders, or at least neck-to-neck with the S-class. They had a real presence on the road.

The current 7er is so behind in the design dept. it's sad. Such a forgettable car inside and out.

[danniexi]

The interior is absolutely gorgeous, but i'd love to see any 50-70 year old operate the infotainment system. Autonomous driving will be a necessity if you want that target demographic to be able change the radio station while driving at the same time.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

The E38 and even the E65 Bangle (post-LCI) were very handsome cars inside and out that were class leaders, or at least neck-to-neck with the S-class. They had a real presence on the road.

The current 7er is so behind in the design dept. it's sad. Such a forgettable car inside and out.

I like to use the benefit of time. Nearly all old S Class look good, aside from the early 90's slab sided beasts with pink reverse lights and the goofball reverse antenna, but any 7er post E38 era tends to look old and dated even before they're out of production.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

I like to use the benefit of time. Nearly all old S Class look good, aside from the early 90's slab sided beasts with pink reverse lights and the goofball reverse antenna, but any 7er post E38 era tends to look old and dated even before they're out of production.

Are you referring to the W140? IMO that is one of the most, if not the most, handsome and timeless S-classes of all time. The W220 at the turn of the century has not aged well.

I still find the E65 post-LCI to be incredibly sexy. It's low, wide, and interesting to look at. The interior design is very unique as well. The F01 looked ungainly, bland, had buck teeth, and Asian looking tail lights. Not at all a sleek design. The G11 is a glorified refresh of the F01, except the front and rear are even worse now.

[Red Bread]

Yeah, W140's. Awful. My dad had the first year and after a handful of the previous 560's (SEL, SEC and SL), the W140 drove and felt cheap. Same went for the stupid R129 SL, even though the previous one had been built for nearly 20 years.

Maybe it's personal though, I drove the 500SEL into the side of the garage one night, taking the lesser of two evils between the wall and the SL. Then a few years later I ripped a wheel off of the SL doing an ill advised launch on a turn covered in wet leaves. Never put a scratch on any of the 560's.

But then there's also the funny memory of the looks I got as a teenager with shoulder length hair, blaring Nirvana, delivering Chinese food in the SEL when my CRX was in the shop.

[c1pher]

Obviously a lot of upgrades but I feel like the look is somewhat boring. All their sedans are alike except for the size. The grille is huge, yet praised. When they did it on the Avalon, reviewer said it looked like a bass mouth. The taillights kind of look like they were copied from a Hyundai. Overall it looks okay but feel like the A3/A4 looks better and has more shape to them.

[paliknight]

Amazing technology in this thing

[sand99]

In typical Audi fashion, the exterior is forgettable, boring, and will not age well (although I do like the OLEDs which are used for the tails). That interior however, is best in class! I do think they should've retained the MMI controller knob though, as it's easier to manipulate menus with a physical controller than via touchscreen when you're actually driving, but they nailed it with everything else.

This is what BMW should have done with the 7 series interior.

[supra93]

Now that Audi has released the new A8, the question on everyone's minds is when we'll see the new S8 performance version, and what will be under the hood.

We can't answer the first question just yet, but Evo has some interesting tidbits about the second. According to the British publication, the new performance sedan is set to employ Porsche power – and even a hybrid version.

Now before you go screaming “what, that's crazy,” let's establish a couple of things. For one, the previous S8 employed a 5.2-liter V10 that was essentially adapted from the Lamborghini Gallardo. The current model uses the same engine as the Bentley Continental GT. So the idea of using a Porsche engine suddenly doesn't seem quite so outlandish, especially when you consider that the new A8 shares its platform with the Panamera.

The engine deployed in the Panamera and being mooted for the S8 bears the same basic parameters as the outgoing model's: a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. But it's an entirely different block, and where the current S8 packs 513 hp (or 597 in Plus guise), the Panamera Turbo boasts 550 – or, crucially, 680 with an electric boost in the Turbo S E-Hybrid.

That's where things get interesting, because Evo and its sister-site Auto Express report that the S8 Plus could be replaced by an S8 E-Tron, using the Porsche's hybrid powertrain. Both versions could end up detuned slightly on their way from Zuffenhausen to Ingolstadt, but not by much.

As it is, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid churns out significantly more power not only than the Mercedes S550e PHEV or BMW 740e iPerformance, but than the AMG S63 or M760i – and more torque than all but the S65.

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/new...win-turbo.html

[Meeni]

Looks like an enormous Passat. Style is boring, except for the oversized front grill that screems "look at me". Now that's obviously a car for people that are driven around, not for drivers.

[supra93]

With an evolutionary design inspired by the Prologue Concept, the all-new Audi A8 made its debut earlier this week.

However, its official presentation wouldn’t have been complete without a set of videos to highlight some of its features, which are meant to help it steal some customers from its arch rivals, namely the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW 7-Series.

The list is generous and it includes an autonomous system, which allows the car to drive itself at speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph), and a remote parking feature, which can be used without any occupants inside.

A new, fully active, electromechanical suspension, is also part of the package, as is the 48-volt electrical system that equips all five engines offered at start. These include gasoline and diesel versions of the 3.0-liter and 4.0-liter V8 units, as well as a 6.0-liter W12.

As usual, the new Audi A8 comes in two versions, with standard and long wheelbase, and will be joined later on by an e-tron Quattro variant of the second.

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/201...high-tech.html

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

How does the driver use the wing mirror when the seat is like that?

When it is driving itself? Hell thats probably the driver in the back seat.

[supra93]

Renderings

S8


A8 Avant

[Red Bread]

That wagon just has the GLC pillar grafted on. The sedan just looks like the old one, which is probably pretty accurate.

[supra93]

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/new...o-benefit.html

Audi’s new A8 will become the first production car to take advantage of a new law in Germany that allows drivers to give up full or partial control to their cars if these are equipped with Level 3 or Level 4 autonomous tech.

Germany is the first country to pass such a law and also the largest new-car market in Europe. Under previous domestic legislation, the driver had to keep his eyes on the road at all times, even with assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist allowed them to take their hands off the wheel for several seconds.

Level 3 autonomous cars feature hands-off capability but the driver is required to take back control at any time. The new German traffic law that allows the use of a car equipped with Level 3 autonomous technology will take effect on June 20, AutoNews reports.

Certain provisions are put in place to specify that drivers must be able to deactivate or manually override the self-driving system and that “sufficient time” is ensured before the driver takes back control. There is also a data recorder that logs handovers and other information, as well as technical malfunctions in the event of a collision.

The new Audi A8 can drive itself on roads with one-way traffic and up to 60km/h (37mph). The driver can give up the control entirely to the Traffic Jam Pilot system, as long as they remain capable of taking back control within a specific frame of time.

[supra93]

The new Audi A8 has an advanced semi-autonomous driving system but Consumer Reports is suggesting some of its claims could be dangerous.

Citing the company's own press release, Consumer Reports takes issue with Audi's statement that traffic jam pilot allows drivers to "take their hands off the steering wheel permanently and, depending on the national laws, focus on a different activity that is supported by the car, such as watching the on-board TV."

When asked about the claim, Audi spokesman Justin Goduto seemed to walk back the company's line by saying “This is a touchy area and, as a car manufacturer, we expect our customers to pay attention and to drive safely." He also stated government regulators will have the final say on what is acceptable.

Consumer Reports isn't the one with concerns as the chief research officer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, David Zuby, said “We have concerns about a system that would allow drivers to disengage from the driving task if the system isn’t able to completely and safely resolve any situation, up to and including reaching its limits."

Semi-autonomous driving systems will certainly ease the task of driving but they're not infallible. The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on the fatal Tesla Model S crash highlighted this point as it revealed the driver was likely too reliant on the Autopilot system and wasn't paying attention to the road.

http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/con...with-audi.html