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2011 Audi A8 LWB to debut in Beijing, confirmed for Australian release

Audi is set to formally unveil the 2011 Audi A8 LWB at next week’s Beijing International Automotive Exhibition following the debut of the standard wheel base saloon at Detroit earlier this year.


Audi Australia’s Anna Burgdorf this morning confirmed the long wheel base luxury limousine will “absolutely” arrive in Australia following strong local sales, but said no launch specifications or dates had been finalised so far.

She said the standard wheel base A8 was on track to arrive in Australia in August-September this year and expected a petrol V8 to be among the first models on sale, with a 3.0-litre TDI also in the works.

The standard and long wheel base saloons both share the new eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive, as well as the 277kW 4.2-litre FSI V8.

Both can be optioned with torque vectoring and sports differential, and come standard with adaptive air suspension and 19in alloys (20in and 21in available).

A 6.3-litre W12 will replace the current 6.0-litre unit and will punch out 368kW and an epic 625Nm. Audi says all that power takes the LWB from 0-100km/h in under 4.9 seconds, yet it is still predicting fuel efficiency gains of up to 12 percent, around 11.8 litres/100km on the EU test cycle.

Despite being around 13cm longer than the standard A8, visually very little distinguishes the two.

Rear passengers will notice the stretched version’s longer rear doors and additional leg room if they can ever draw their attention away from the rear-seat entertainment system, four-zone automatic air conditioning, refrigerator, folding table and massaging and reclining seats with electronic footrests.

The fun continues with a touch screen navigation system in the front, twin-glass panoramic roof overhead, 1400watt Bang & Olufsen audio system with no less than 19 speakers and wood and leather everywhere else.

Safety tech includes night view with pedestrian detection, side and lane assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and Audi’s pre-sense safety system.

European Audi A8 LWB deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2010 with pricing to remain competitive with similar offerings from its traditional German rivals.

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