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The next-generation Audi A8 will borrow several key styling cues and features from the GrandSphere concept, according to a recent report. The luxurious sedan will hit showrooms in a few years as an electric sedan with a spacious interior and a long list of specs.
Built on the EPI platform jointly developed with Porsche, the next generation A8 will adopt the E-Tron nameplate, according to the British magazine Coach. It’s set to make its official debut in 2023, and the publication has learned that the overall design won’t change much.
“The GrandSphere is a very concrete teaser. It’s not far from what will become production. It’s not 1:1 but very close,” said Marc Lichte, head of Audi’s design department. Coach. It looks like Audi’s next flagship sedan will get a complete exterior makeover.
While the exterior design isn’t expected to change much, it will be interesting to see how well the interior makes the leap from concept car to production car. Audi developed the GrandSphere with Level 4 autonomous technology in mind and designed the interior accordingly; Oliver Hoffmann, Head of Technical Development at Audi, said Autoblog in 2021 that the concept was created from the inside.
It’s too early to say exactly what the next-generation A8 will be equipped with, but the sedan will be exclusively available with an electric drivetrain; the EPI platform is not compatible with a gasoline engine. For context, the concept unveiled in 2021 (pictured) used a pair of electric motors (one per axle) rated at 710 horsepower and 708 pound-feet of torque. They were hooked up to a massive 120 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that stores enough electricity for a range of up to 466 miles. Audi quoted a 0-60 mph time of around 4 seconds.
The next-gen A8 isn’t the only premium electric model Audi will unveil in 2024. UK Magazine Top of the line learned that the German firm’s product roadmap also includes an electric RS6 E-Tron based on the next-generation A6, which has yet to be unveiled but is expected to remain relatively close to the A6 E-Tron concept introduced in April 2021 and the A6 Avant Concept E-Tron unveiled in March 2022.
Also built on the PPE platform, the RS6 E-Tron would stand out from the A6 with more power and a more muscular exterior design – these features have characterized Audi’s high-powered wagons ever since the RS2 debuted in as an evolution of the 80 in 1994.
“I like the RS6 because I can fit bikes in it, skis, so many things. That’s why I like it. And for me, the position. It’s always the wide track. And if you think of Audi’s competitors, are they in the market right now with performance electric vehicles with a wider track? I would say no,” Lichte said.
It is not yet known whether the RS6 E-Tron will reach our market.
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