The battle for ultra-luxurious supremacy among sedans has always come down to 3 primes - Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The Germans have always been at war in this arena. The likes of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys are inclined towards a plush and cozy experience, even on the driving front.
And that is exactly where the Germans differ from their British counterparts. To shake things up in the luxury segment, Audi has refreshed its A8 for 2022. While the changes are subtle, the bigger picture puts up a major shift. Exterior gets most of the new updates including the first-ever S-Line appearance package for the A8. Apart from that, it gets a new front and rear fascia with redesigned LED lighting, a bigger grille, and OLED taillights.
Audi has also added a slew of new paint options including matte ones (have to see if this makes it to the US). As for the 2022 Audi A8 interior, changes are mellower with additional trimming options, a new optional head-up display, and 2 new rear-seat entertainment screens. While Audi USA is yet to confirm the list of updates that will be provided for the US-bound A8 and S8 models, we are envious of the China-only Maybach-fighting 2022 Audi A8 Horch Edition.
The 2022 Audi A8 gets a refreshing new face, OLED lighting, matte paint jobs, cooler wheels, and more entertainment screens on the inside.
New Colors, New Wheels, Redesigned Grille, And Refreshed LED Lighting Elements
Audi has given the 2022 A8 a subtly refreshed face evident from the chrome-heavy and wider front grille. The bumper side intakes are now wider and more upright than giving it a sharper stance. The redesigned LED headlamps come with the magical digital matrix function that makes it extremely adaptive during night drives and also does cool welcome projections.
Digital OLED tail lamps are now standard and flaunt a tweaked design that gives off a Merc vibe. Audi has added 4 new metallic paint options - District Green, Firmament Blue, Manhattan Gray, and Ultra Blue as well as 5 new matter shades - Daytona Gray, Floret Silver, District Green, Terra Gray, and Glacier White.
The metallic options are sure to make it ashore, but we will have to wait and see about the matte options. Audi has carrier over last-year's Black and Chrome Exterior packages without any changes. Audi has added in six new wheel designs from Audi and Audi Sport for the 2022 A8 that range from 18 to 21 inches.
S-Line Exterior Appearance Package For The First Time On An Audi A8
For the first time in 28 years, the Audi A8 can be garlanded with an optional S-Line exterior package that adds a lot more sportiness. A lot of its elements have been derived from the 2022 Audi S8 which is technically a performance-oriented version of the plush A8.
The S-Line changes are subtle but sharp and are confined to the front and rear bumper, along with cooler Audi Sport wheel designs. The 2022 Audi A8 interior also gets S-Line treatment with badging on the steering wheel are footwell along with sportier interior shades in black, merlot red, or cognac.
Plush Interior Gets New Trimmings And Optional Rear Entertainment Displays
Audi had impressively updated the A8's cabin with luxury and technology for 2021, and so, the 2022 MY gets subtle changes. These include new trimming options along with vibrant leather colors. As always, second-row seats are the star of this luxury show and come with a slew of comfort features including power functionality, massage, and ventilation.
Technology despite being top-notch gets an even further bump with 2 new rear-seat 10.1-inch entertainment screens. The dashboard is adorned with the same 2 screen layout for infotainment and in-car controls. Audi has added a new optional head-up display to the completely digital Audi Virtual cockpit. MMI Navigation plus is now standard and is supported by the 3-rd generation modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3).
A New Ultra-luxury Horch Model But Only For China
This is one forbidden fruit that we are craving. The 2022 Audi A8 Horch Edition is a Maybach-fighting China-exclusive offering. It looks unique thanks to the cool green shade and cooler 20-inch mono-block wheels that hit straight at Mercedes-Maybach's soft spot. This A8 is longer than the standard A8 L that we get here by 5.1 inches. This also makes it just an inch shorter than the Merc-Maybach S-Class! And the most heart-warming part is that this exclusive A8 is named after the founding father of Audi.
New Audi A8 Along With The S8 Will Launch In The US By Mid-2022
Audi has not fiddled with the already cozy engine options that make this mothership a luxury haven on wheels. We will most likely be getting the same 3.0 TFSI and 4.0 TFSI 6-cylinder hybrid options while Europe gets an additional diesel powertrain option.
The Horch Edition is even unique in this aspect as it gets an exclusive 3.0-liter V6 only because of the notorious taxation rules for engines surpassing the 3.0-liter cubic capacity mark. While Audi USA has not confirmed the launch window for the 2022 Audi A8 and its sportier S8, we expect it to touch down in mid-2022. When launched, the 2022 A8 and S8 will cost notably higher than the 2021 MY that was priced at $86,500 and $130,900 respectively.
Sources: Audi-mediacenter.com, Caranddriver.com, Motor1.com