Audi A8

The Audi A8 is a 4-door sedan from Audi, built from 1994 to 2026, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. Chris Bird; Dirk van Braeckel (1990, 1991) drew it.

How it came about

The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and currently in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with either front- or permanent all-wheel drive and in short- and long-wheelbase variants. The first two generations employed the Volkswagen Group D platform, with the current generation deriving from the MLB platform. After the original model's 1994 release, Audi released the second generation in late 2002, the third in late 2009, and the fourth and current iteration in 2017. Noted as the first mass-market car with an aluminium chassis, all A8 models have used this construction method co-developed with Alcoa and marketed as the Audi Space Frame.

A mechanically upgraded, high-performance version of the A8 debuted in 1996 as the Audi S8. Produced exclusively at Audi's Neckarsulm plant, the S8 is fitted standard with Audi's quattro all-wheel drive system. The S8 was only offered with a short-wheelbase for the first three generations, being joined by a long-wheelbase variant for the fourth generation. In March 2026, reports stated that Audi had stopped taking new A8 orders in Germany from 18 February 2026, signaling the wind down of the current D5 generation. At the time, Audi has confirmed a successor is in the works, and availability in other markets was reported to depend on remaining inventory. The development followed broader reports that Audi was shifting strategic focus toward SUVs and electric vehicles.

Under the skin

The record carries the shape — a 4-door sedan. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.

Family and rivals

Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Audi V8; assembly was at Neckarsulm (Neckarsulm Audi Factory), Germany. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Subaru Outback, the Toyota RAV4, the Toyota Tacoma — show what else the money bought that year. Its Audi stablemates include the Audi 200 and the Audi 225.

What it costs now

The money question first: $13,300–$65,000 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,805–$7,221 a year. Insurance sits around $1,490–$3,420 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.