Difficult Choice For The Boss

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

Audi has extended its flagship. The chauffeur limousine, which has now grown to 5.27 meters, gives the boss a choice: rest or work.

By Thomas Flehmer, making decisions is a matter for the boss. They secure the weal or woe of the respective company. And decisions often have to be made outside of the office as well. Since the office chair is then usually not within reach, the car manufacturers provide particularly large vehicles as office replacements. There is no lack of convenience here, and the technical requirements such as Internet access with WiFi transform flagships like the long version of the new Audi A8 into mobile boardrooms, so that one has to ask: How could companies be run successfully in the past?

13 centimeters longer

While in local countries the decision in most cases amounts to a "short version" over five meters long, the extended battleships are much more sought after, especially in China, the USA or the Middle East. Audi is planning over 50 percent sales in overseas regions with the A8 L. "There the car is driven by a chauffeur during the week, and on the weekend the boss himself gets behind the wheel," explains Audi spokesman Josef Schlossmacher other countries.

The boss, who mutated into a chauffeur at the weekend, will then have a 5.27 meter long car available to jet through the streets of Tokyo, Dubai or San Francisco, 13 centimeters more than the normal A8 version, which previously cost 7,700 euros more than has to be leafed through for the sedan with short wheelbase. Even if the increase in length primarily benefits the rear passengers, the boss is also very comfortable in the front. The redesigned MMI with the Navi-touch, which debuted in the short version, promises easy operation even with the long planer. The seeker draws the city and street names on the touchpad with his finger and lets his eyes watch the traffic.

Better damping of the front axle

In addition to the luxurious equipment, the long version has a great advantage. Since the springs and the chassis were designed differently here than on the A8 with a short wheelbase, the front axle does not rumble over any transverse joints, but rather lets the vehicle, which is only 1880 kilograms for its size, glide. The reason for this lower weight in the luxury class is the aluminum body, which brings it to a weight of only 241 kilograms and which gets the flagship - regardless of which of the five engines on offer - up to speed.

The 6.3 FSI twelve-cylinder with 368 kW / 500 PS also remains in the range in the third generation of the long stroke. In combination with the 625 Newton meters of torque, the A8 L has already reached 100 km / h after 4.7 seconds and thus places itself in the field of super sports cars - just as a mobile business sedan.