Audi drives into new territory with A8 flagship

The $240,000 Audi A8 will be available in New Zealand with a diesel engine. Photo / Supplied

Audi is treading on new ground at the top of the luxury market - its new $240,000 A8 flagship might be available in New Zealand only with a turbodiesel engine, albeit a cutting-edge 4.2-litre V8 example.

The German carmaker launched the A8 on roads around Hawkes Bay this week, saying it is not sure if it will offer an optional big-capacity petrol unit, traditionally the engine of choice in the $200,000 and upwards segment.

"The V8 TDi [turbodiesel] was the only engine available to us at launch," says Audi NZ general manager Dane Fisher.

"We are looking at a couple of other options, a 3-litre turbodiesel and a 3-litre supercharged petrol unit that are both available early next year and priced at around $195,000.

"But we have yet to determine what we will do. The V8 diesel might be the only engine we bring in. We are not sure."

If nothing else, the $195,000 option gives Audi an A8 price point below $200,000, an entry level option that might appeal in a segment of the market that hasn't escaped the recent recessionary scalpel.

The A8 is also available with a top-end 4.2-litre petrol V8. "I've driven the V8 petrol car," says Fisher. "The V8 diesel offers almost as much horsepower but considerably more torque.

"The 800Nm is incredible. Besides that, you can do 800km on a tank. The diesel has no deficiencies compared with the petrol engine."

The twin-turbo 4.2-litre TDI unit delivers 258kW at around 4500rpm and 800Nm between 1750- and 2750rpm. Audi says it sprints from zero to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds and returns a town-and-around fuel consumption of 7.6 litres/100km. CO2 exhaust emissions are rated at 199g a km.

The third-generation A8 continues with Audi's aluminium space frame design, a structure that Audi claims weighs 40 per cent less than a similar steel skeleton.

The A8's new eight-speed transmission also plays a large part in the car's improved efficiencies, cutting fuel consumption by a claimed 6 per cent.

The car is rigged with Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system which, on normal going, splits drive 60 per cent to the rear wheels and 40 per cent to the front.

On dodgy surfaces, the system sends the oomph to the axle that needs it most.

The standard MMI (multimedia interface) control system in the A8 gets a new whizbang feature: a touch-sensitive control panel.

The driver can enter a destination or a telephone number by drawing with a finger the letters and numbers on the screen pad.

There's a radar-assisted cruise control covering speeds up to the electronically limited 250km/h.

It also brakes the car to avoid, or lessen, the severity of rear-end collision with the car in front.

Night vision helps here, too. It works with a thermal imaging camera and highlights danger in the form of a stray pedestrian or wandering dog, for example, up ahead.

The image glows red and an audible warning sounds if the pedestrian or dog's days are numbered, so to speak.