The new flagship from the premium carmaker will also have strips of LED diodes in its indicators, which will flash sequentially in the direction the car is turning — a feature used in some American cars in the 70s and 80s.
A much sharper front treatment highlights the new car, and there's more power from the upgraded engines while at the same time they use up to 10 percent less fuel.
The A8 W12 quattro comes with a cyliner deactivation system similar to that available on the Volkswagen Golf, which 'switches off' half of the engine cylinders when not under heavy load.
That 4.0 TFSI engine is nevertheless capable of shunting the big car to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds.
The new A8 goes on sale in RHD markets in January.
