Looks just like an.. Audi A8!

Boy I could take this in a SHO

I watched the unveiling…good god it was boring!
I liked the looks of this car, simple, clean, crisp lines.
It’s too bad the unveiling was about 30 minutes while the car showing only lasted a minute!

It looks like a uhhhh uhhhhh an Audi, yeah that’s it, an Audi. Not that they look bad, I like them, it’s that they all look so so similar. No joke, I was at an Audi dealership this weekend and I could not tell them apart.

they had 8 yrs to redesign the a8 but am i the only one that feels like this is just a facelift. I want a flagship dammit not a blown up a4

HATE that shifter…ugh.

I think its beautiful, i’m almost speechless

Simply Orgasmic

Nice Caprice. What’s with the Audi grill?

yup thats an Audi alright… Jeremy Clarkson probably just went ape-**** crazy jumping on his couch Tom Cruise style when he say it has Bang and Olufsen on board… a big thing for me is interior, its something you have to look at.. the rear end of the car can be ugly, back it into your garage, probably solved you never see it, but the interior is my nit-pick… and that LCD screen looks like rubbish. i much prefer the indash, or better yet the CTS style pop-up. i love the look of the rear-center console, and the rest of the interior (atleast from the awkward journalist snap shots taken) look really nice, and i prefer it to the BMW interiors. the use of the two-tone leather, wood, and chrome is stunning imo… but again, the only interior shots i have seen are just quick snap shots.

but the exterior is like its been said, just an Audi, same old. head lights give it droopy sad dog eyes which make me pitty it and not want to push it hard around corners. rear end looks good until you get a look at it’s boxy-ness from a side view, doesnt really flow with the organic curves of the rest of the car.. i do not like the lower rear bumper, specifically the nostrils for the exhaust, looks like a nice hack job on a civic, but a hack job non-the-less. i much prefer the exit through a rear-diffuser or have the lips around the cutouts molded to give it something more to look at.

i still have yet to see any full side profile shots so its hard to say how the length of the car will compliment the rest of it, but from what i can gather its nothing to wave your dick in the middle of traffic at

of course the test drive says everything, so for now this is all just a precursor… i will be test driving this when the dealers start getting them, but i think just from these initial thoughts, my monopoly money is safe.

VERSAGEN! VERSAGEN! VERSAGEN!

I think it’s beautiful!

Man what a boring new vehicle. I agree with everyone else on here saying most Audi’s look too much alike..and they all look dated now too. You would think the A8 would have ushered in a new styling direction. Nope..just more of the same ole same ole.

Don’t like it
What’s ith the stupid headlights?
It looks like the last-gen A6, or Passat W8!

The roof is domed from most angles, making it look smaller, and less like a flagship
The rear door looks small and poorly integrated into the C-Pillar

And, BTW, it has no torque compared to the competition
Fortunately it is on a diet
Audi wants to lead by lightness, and make all theier cars more efficient through weight savings
But this is a class defined by excess, so……

Good luck with that
DrFill

FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! What the hell are they thinking? They give the 2009 A8 a mid-cycle freshening and expect it to pass as the new A8 for the next 5 or 6 years? What are they smoking over there in Ingolstadt?

wow, foot in mouth for me, LLN didnt have pics up when i started typing that.
but meh, nothing has really changed for me, the shifter reminds me of a sock puppet, entire roof looks like a big bulk of… bulkiness, just way to my on the headliner.
the seats do look like an absolute dream (can i order 5 for my home theater?)
and i love the center console, looks amazing (except for the LCD, like i already said) and i cant get over how much i love the look of the rear console… tv- dinner trays on the back of the seats arent for me, but i guess if you have a driver puttering you around from place to place it is nice for a laptop.

interior is a big win for me, exterior looks goodish-great, but not amazing

Audi makes nice cars but these headlights are stupendously FUGLY!

people here who say its beautiful I agree w/ you. audi/vw has always been tasteful well executed cars. but does this car makes me want to trade my bmw in for one? i dont think so. It will certainy be a hit to current vw/audi fanboys but it will never appeal to new non audi/vw customers. This thing didn’t even come out and it already looks dated! It looks beautiful thats because it is soooo familiar in our eyes

Now I want a black S class even more.

It just seems like all sedans are becoming an amalgamation of all other sedans out there. I do love the arm rest for the back seats though! Very cool

while it does look like the rest of audi’s lineup, i really like the 2-level led strip in the headlights

The A8 is a sight to behold in the flesh. First, it’s a large automobile; second, it oozes with luxury.

Eh its alright..nothing groundbreaking but still fairly elegant and tastefully subdued. Getting some “flame surfacing” ala Bangle here. Still definitely the sleeper of the class. Shifter looks really funky, but somehow better than the retarded one in the new 7 series, at least you can tell where its supposed to travel to. Not sold on the headlights–I think the LED DRLs worked on the R8, but not so much here.

Personally, I’d go S-Class if I had to buy one of the oversized limos.

The rear end looks identical to the A5. This car looks serious. But it also looks like Audi didn’t want to change much from the current A8. Just to update it a bit.

I have to agree with alot of people on this blog. Those headlights are strange. Im not feeling it. I think they shouldve tried something else with this design.

It looks like RUSTY A$$!
LOL
DrFill

ahhh the A8 was one of my favorite cars inside and out! Why did Audi get lazy and use a transplant from the rear of an A4!?! They had such a hit with the A5 and have just gone downhill. sigh

Interior looks great but exterior is boring and I am an Audi fan. It reminds me of how I felt when the last A6 came out (C6 in 06′)….I was glad we had a 01′ A6. Just classic styling and I feel the current A8 will be the same way.

Notice everybody: the big 3 german autos are returning to the pre-mid-90s “same sausage, different size” design philosophy. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing…just very conservative. Very…German. Just look at the new 5. Reminds me a lot of the 7.

Those oddly angular headlight elements wouldn’t look out of place on an Acura.. and from the rear 3/4, if those taillights were triangular this could easily pass for a new flagship Volvo S90! I think I prefer the current model with the sleeker, more “chopped” roofline and taillights that don’t look like they came off the A4.

looks like a last gen Camry

retract that toyota avalon

Beautiful in person

Ummm… Disappointing much? I expected so much more than this. I agree that it just looks like a bloated A4. The interior is a work of art as always, but I can’t help but think that It has a close resemblance to the 7-series interior though. Whats up with the step back in time with the key slot in the dash? Audi let me down with this one.

audi’s kinda look like upside-down bathtubs to me these days…on a smaller car (a4) i can deal with it…and the s5 is proportioned pretty well…but this is simply a bigger upside-down bathtub…

Those headlights … very strange.

But after a while of staring at it and trying to make sense of it, they grow on you, I suppose.

-cereal

I hate the LED light pattern up front. It looks like an old man. It’s not pretty. it’s not A5-y. It’s not different enough. it’s both dull and weird.

The rear, except for the pretty cool light pattern, looks identical to the A4. It’s nice . . . NICE, but looks Just like the A4.

The interior however, magnificent! It’s brilliant. Gorgeous. Luxurious. I love it. I want to live in there – then I wouldn’t have to look at the exterior.

I am more than a little underwhelmed. The interior looks nice and is probably beautifully built but that exterior. It looks over bodied and doesn’t sit well on its wheels at all….justthe like A4 in fact. The stance is very poor. The overall appearance is one of a dated blend of the current A6 and A4 scled up..it doesn’t look new or fresh in ANY way. The detailing too is disappointing. The strip of LED’s inside the headlamp graphic looks like it has fallen from its mountings and is totally at odds with the shape of the outer perimeter.

I think I prefer Jaguars new XJ and the Seven series to this. Wasted opportunity Audi.

Horrible choice of colors, inside and out.. AUDIs only look good in black or white exterior, with black interior… that is it… red may be an exceptions on the s models..

This car is beautiful, because I love audi, but come on, its 2010, make it look like a 2010… like the A7 Sportback concept, that was a beauty

First of all, I m a big fan of Audis, esp the A5.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the new A8.
Call me crazy, when I first looked at the pics, thoughts of the Ford 500/Taurus went through my head.

Seems like a retread of the A4. Like the A4, something just isnt right with this one either.
I think the experimentation with the “retro” grill needs to stop. It just hasnt evovled into anything.
Actually, surface development wise, its taken a step back.

The rear just isnt working for me either. Dont like the sunken in tray-like A4 license plate area.

I expected the car to be conservative overall but this is way too safe.

I think what ruins it for me are the low beltline/overly tall greenhouse in relation to the bodyside sheetmetal (think 1990 Honda Accord) and the pronounced Volvo-like notched shoulder where other Audis merely have a bodyside crease. Everybody seems to agree this looks like nothing more than an upsized A4 or S80.. hardly prestigious looking compared to the 7-series, XJ or S-class.

It looks okay, but I prefer 7, LS, S over this one.

In addition, dashboard look cheap because of the screen. The front end looks very big, too big, and there is something not right with th headlight IMO.

hmmm does anyone else get a HOTAS vibe from the shifter?

I’m not sold yet on LED headlamps. I saw some on the Escalade (they were a set of lamps, not the usual round lens setup on the bottom part of the headlamp assembly), and they were not as bright as the usual HID. I doubt they will last as long either (LEDs are VERY heat sensitive), and if they do, they will dim worse than HIDs.

I have HIDs, and they are as bright as they were when I bought my car almost 5 years ago.

When U finally crash that Ugly Front into another car, and the headlight balls fall out, you can say..”Audi has lost it’s Marbles”…l have been reading this site your years and never felt compelled to comment, until now..What were they thinking with the headlights, and the design is boring (at least on the puter). lt looks like a hat on wheels..

For*

I’m surprised by the IP. Reminds me of how GM/Ford used to do them. Take out the console and put in an ashtray for the bench seats.

Overall OK but not spectacular. IP does look nice.

KarLoveBoy88,
The key slot is there to hold keys, like so many other high end models. It doesn’t have to be in it to start the car.

I will also reserve judgment till I actually see one in person. I know plenty of audis that look like crap on pictures but end up amazing when you see them in person.

Interior is still the best in the biz, awesome electronics, wicked headlights but ya……….they could have made it just a little better looking. Other then the beaming LED lamps, this will probably go unnoticed cruising down the road

Agree about the headlights on the tan car – I assume those are the all LED lights. The silver car shown has a more traditional design which I think works much better. What is the improvement of light output from HID to LED in lumens?

The LED light setup reminds me of the Infinity Q45 from a few years back with the gatling gun assembly. Just didnt look right

To clarify – I was talking about the silver car in the second group of photos. Not the unveiling

Johnny, you know it is NOT Caprice when you are looking at the broads in the audience: no tattoos.

those headlights look stupid and cheap.

wat really killing me is LED head lights ns i dont see anythign special…

It’s a beautiful car, no doubt, but not a ground breaking design. Would have liked it to take a bigger design leap forward as the Audi flagship, setiing the pace for the next generation of smaller Audis. Interior is the usual stunner from Audi but what’s up with that “quilted” leather? Hope that’s an option.

I don’t really like it but if it’s good enough for Christina Ricci….

posted by:easyrider
those headlights look stupid and cheap.

posted by:singhBlazer
wat really killing me is LED head lights ns i dont see anythign special…
_____________________________________

Nothing Special, stupid and cheap?/! Let’s just say some road debris takes out one of the lighting units of your brand new 2011 A8; the resulting repair/replacement bill is going to be very-very special;-) So special in fact; you may want to “shock and awe” your friends and family with it. So, as you can see, yes indeed you will be very special… something to brag about… if that’s your thing?

DB9;-)

PS. Don’t even think of taking it through your comprehensive coverage or your next renewal will be similarly very-very special.

I also think that the traditional light version looks a ton better! I like the pal rest idea with the shifter so it’s easier to rest your hand while controlling the mmi unit. I love the seats…they look very expensive and comfortable!

i remember when i first saw the A5 coupe in a magazine i thought it looked plain. but then i saw one in the flesh and i love it since. i like Audi’s style, simple, elegant , understated. i’d take an A8 over a S class or 7 series but with Xenon headlights.

So true DB. They talk about a team being more than the sum of its parts. Just imagine what the sum of all the parts of an A8 would come to if ordered a la carte.

@ atoms , that’s what i thought when i saw the shifter.

posted by:johnnycanuck

So true DB. They talk about a team being more than the sum of its parts. Just imagine what the sum of all the parts of an A8 would come to if ordered a la carte.
_________________________________________________

I’m thinking ~$2-5k per unit, off the shelf replacement part, may be more as they are vehicle specific advanced examples of an already new technology. If the complex electronic controllers, they interface with the cars on board navigation and control systems, for the lighting patterns are built into the units, well… hey, as they say, it’s only money…

DB9;-)

I think this car turned out great. The shifter is amazing. I ALWAYS rest my right arm on the arm rest with my wrist/hand on the shift. This is perfect for me in that regard. The rest of the car looks gorgeous. The rear does look a bit like an A4 but the front is very unique. The angular LED daytime running lights will make it instantly recognizable on the street.
I think that the 7-series looks more like a refresh then does this car. The S-class certainly is a nice looking car but has always been VERY expensive compared to the A8. Not worth it in my book when you could get an S8 for the cost of an S550.

I have always believed that BMW is the drivers car and Mercedes the passengers car. Audi blends the two nicely. Making it enjoyable for both the driver and the passenger. This car looks no different for Audi. That is a good thing.

One car in this class that I was blown away with is the new Jag XJ. That car was more revolutionary for Jag while this A8 is more evolutionary for the A8. I think it is nicely done.

People who are looking for a show stopper don’t buy a car in this class. Remember that this is a large 4-door luxury car. In that regard, the A8 is far better in my book than the 7-series and overly priced S-class. IF I were to buy I would look at this new A8 and the XJ.

I thought the last generation A8, in comparison to it’s previous generation and the competition from BMW & M-B WAS a show stopper! When introduced it was dynamic and fresh. It had the sportiest look of the bunch and was quite unique.
Times have changed and the A8, it seems, hasn’t much…

Not a good look. It looks archaic to me just like the A4. They seem too narrow for their lengths and that doesn’t lead to a sporty or muscular stance. The front end is too droopy. The headlights are too much. I am already sick of seing the A5 and A4 headlights. They need to be cool, yet subtle like the BMW rings.

Great looking, no bull**** vehicle! Not overdone: No skirts, no finns, no lasers and no gun turrets, just a self-confident and forceful design.

Audi has always been a follower of the saying “less is more” and it continues here. Its not Flashy its not gaudy Its simple and classy. The interior is far better than the 7 or the S in every single way. I am a bit disappointed with the tail end… I love audi design but i do hate that when you are behind one you have to search for the model name to know which one you are following because they all take the exact same appearance. The LED front i like alot. You can notice an audi in your rearview from MILES away, those LED’s are bright as hell! and best of all no one else has the same look. S class headlights are nothing special, the BMW “halo” can be had on other cars now and alot of ricer rockets are gettin them after market but the audi swooping LEDs are unique. Im with Tornado, when it comes to the Luxo-Cruisers it’s a toss between the XJ and the A8. the XJ is a bit more stylish on the outside and will turn a few more heads, but you could live in the audi and never get sick of that interior…and considering I’d be spending alot more time on the inside of the car driving it as opposed to simply looking at it the interior is important

i think its gd in general but for a flagship car i expect a lot more ….looks a lil dumb but they’re very different in person than in photos ….i’d take a panamera

Audi has a problem, they don’t take risks at designing, therefore, once they have something that is proven to be good, they stay with it.

Not bad…nice new front…. but side view has no real appeal, HATE the gearshifter…and the POXY woodgrain….put nice carbon fibre black or piano black instead…
apart from that..still very boring for the cash u will lay out…with not much change in design…
needs bigger wheels…would like to see it in black…

Oh i forgot….that Christina Ricci is looking pretty good to me….i wouldnt mind givin her my pork sword….

Pazzo, like most other audi models, this will probably be available with a choice of wheel styles, in sizes 17-20 inches.

Wow, now that is one nice lookin ride dude! Wow!

RT
http://www.web-anonymity.de.tc

A big A4 does not an A8 make. The current model’s beauty has been left in the dust for a droopy looking, pumped up A4. Sad, sad. Reminds me of what BMW did to the 740/745 transition in 2002.

If the same holds true, people will buy initially and then complain about it’s lack of grace, forcing Audi into a refresh in 2-3 yrs to fix it.

This looks boring and devoid of real design expression. It’s just a longer A4.

I really like what they came up with for the A5 and it’s sad to see they didn’t carry that design expressiveness through to the new A8.

Way too conservative design wise IMO. Like BMW and Mercedes flagship designs better.

This car just doesn’t look grand enough to compete with the S-Class and new XJ. Conservative & understated are one thing, but this car has zero design. It’s uneventful, unmemorable. Silver does this car no favors. The rear light design looks *very* cheap. Why bother redesigning the A8? It was a lateral move in most respects. It was a move backwards in terms of those cheap looking real lights.

I love the Audi line, but if Audi doesn’t step up it’s marketing campaign, the A8 will remain a poor seller. Audi should take a page out of Cadillac’s marketing book. Caddy used to only appeal to senior citizens and “pimps”. After massive advertising, Caddy changed that. Audis just don’t dawn on most Americans.

Im sure its a nice car and everything, but doesnt look too impressive, and loaded up, probabaly gets close to $100K.
Personally, I would rather have a Lincoln MK S ecoboost for $ 54K. Looks way nicer and has pretty much everything and more than the A8 not to mention 45K in change!

peter g, how can you say the car has no BS and it’s understated. Look at those damn front lights. They look like they were high when they designed it.
In my opinion, the front lights were a late addition when they realized the rest of the car is just plain boring so they decided to spice things up a bit with some typical Audi LED lights with a twist of stupid added for good measure.
Seeing this I realize that BMW and MB have nothing to worry about!

Your Comment

soo boring the 7 destroys it

!@sal500 – You’d rather have an MKS ecoboost and “keep the change”? HAHA. Keep retarded MKS comparisons inside your head next time…I hate everyone always trying to bring up the MKS in any type of comparison, acting like its such a game changer, such a good deal….it BLOWS. The engine is nice, I’ll give you that, but it is NOT a sporting machine…it has a lame tranny, and mediocre handling. Not to mention its FWD in standard form, a tell-tale sign that the car isn’t intended for a true enthusiast. It’s pathetic the effect that Ford’s advertising has had on the supposed car “enthusiast” public…people get fooled so easily.

Try this; give me a 535i Sport w/ a 6 Speed, or an A6 3.0T, and I’ll keep the change. Now that makes some sense. If you’re gonna get a mid size lux/sport sedan, get a good one. Please.

Audi has some nice styling, I wish they would stop ruining it with the stupid string of after market “bought these at pep boys” Christmas lights. They should get over their identity,”inferior to bmw” or whatever crisis and just go with their styling. Ok BMW came up with a cool branding idea with their angel eyes don’t imitate – innovate.

The side view reminds me of a Ford Five Hundred, & that was a complete FAIL.

Oh Audi…

Audis look dated? Well, I can’t stop gazing into the headlights, which I love! Stop with the hating–LED may the future of headlghts, and Audi’s headlights are exotically decorative and distinctive. Audis used to be boring to look at, but no longer. They all have that ubercar look to me with these dazzling headlights.

Of course, there is the snob appeal. I remember some A**hole at the LA Auto Show who gushed all over the Audi A8 a few years ago in its last iteration, but when I asked him what he thought of the virtually identical (not to mention very fun and cool, being a Vee Dub, I thought) Volkswagen Phaeton, he shrugged his shoulders.

Anyway, I can’t wait to sit in one of these, let alone drive it.