The new Audi A8 L W12

With the twelve cylinder A8 L W12 quattro Audi is now introducing the ultimate engine configuration for its flagship model. The new A8 W12 is a concentrated high-tech package that confirms the Audi claim to technical leadership – “Vorsprung durch Technik”. With a long wheelbase and a twelve-cylinder engine it sets new standards of luxury, dynamism and efficiency in the top automobile manufacturing league.

Subtle visual details on the interior and exterior, for example the integral grid structure in a high gloss black paint and chrome finish on the single-frame radiator grille, distinguish the A8 L W12 quattro from the other cars in the A8 model line. The generous list of standard equipment has been further extended to include full LED headlights, the panoramic sunroof, power assisted doors and electrical boot lid, heat and acoustic insulated windows as well as power-adjustable seats with ventilation and massage function in the front and rear. TV reception, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced sound system and Rear Seat Entertainment also come as a standard. Like the A8 L 3.0 TFSI and 4.2 FSI the new Audi A8 L W12 is 13 cm longer than the regular version, which fully benefits the passengers in the rear.

The 6.3 FSI engine has an output of 500 hp and delivers its peak torque of 625 Nm at engine speeds at 4,750 rpm. It gives the long-wheelbase Audi A8 the kind of performance normally expected of a sports car: it sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in only 4.7 seconds and effortlessly reaches its governed top speed of 250 km/h. The eight-speed tiptronic shifts smoothly and quickly and the quattro permanent all-wheel drive train divides the torque flow from the engine in a sporty manner.

The fuel consumption too sets new standards: the EU cycle test result is only 12.4 liters per 100 kilometers, a figure well below that of competitors’ cars with V12 engines. The previous 6.0-liter engine, which had a power output of 450 hp, recorded a fuel consumption of 13.6 l/100 km – the difference of 1.2 l/100 km is equivalent to a nine percent improvement. The W12 engine’s low fuel consumption compared with its competitors is to a large extent due to Audi’s modular efficiency platform including the recuperation system and innovative thermal management

The engine is known as the W12 because of its unusual layout: it has four rows of three cylinders with a 15-degree included angle between the two offset rows of cylinders in each broad cylinder block. The engine runs exceptionally smoothly, and the car’s occupants are unlikely to sense any of this supreme power at work unless it is at high engine speeds and severe loads.

The Audi A8 W12 is available as of now with prices starting from USD 144,288 in the GCC.