Audi produces one-off A8L extended

Money talks. For one specific Audi customer in Europe, the A8L simply wasn’t long enough nor spacious enough for his needs. Thanks to the wonders of aluminium extrusion and flexible modular platforms, Audi was able to stretch the A8L to accommodate the customer’s requests.

The wheelbase has been increased by 1.09 metres in the process, which also adds to the overall length on the whole. To maintain chassis rigidity, Audi made use of aluminium profiled tubes and cross-braces in the roof; the result is a vehicle that is almost on par with the A8L in terms of torsional strength. There are 3 pairs of doors in total, each accessing a separate row.

Unlike your standard limousine, this special model has all 6 seats facing the direction of travel. In the run-of-the-mill American limos, usually the second row will be facing rearwards to allow occupants to talk to each other. The roof is replaced by a 2.4 metre long glass panel, with individual sunblinds for each row. Each row also receives electric seats and the rearmost row features a rear seat entertainment display along with a coolbox.

Powering this beast is a 3.0 TFSI motor with 310 hp, mated with an 8-speed gearbox and the quattro all-wheel drive system. Figures are surprisingly quick for this 2,418 kg car: 100 km/h comes up in just  7.81 seconds, and the top speed is limited to 250 km/h. Audi has received numerous requests for this car since they completed this particular unit.