A new luxury competitor attacking Mercedes and BMW

From the beginning in the premium limousine area, Audi launched the V8 in 1988, a car that wanted to challenge the Mercedes 500 W126 and the BMW 7 Series The first test that would be imitated a few years later with the A8.

Dated design, imperfect road handling, limited equipment… Audi’s image did not really reflect modernity. The distribution of the “quattro” and the sports results in the rally have brought good financial conditions to Audi for the development of the road variety. Better equipped, better finished, and with better engines, the cars beaten by Pete also sold their services at a higher price than the rest of the competition. A profitable strategy that made it possible to raise the funds needed to challenge its direct competitors, Mercedes and BMW.

However, a segment was missing in which Audi had not yet tried its luck: that of premium limousines, comprised of the Mercedes 500 W126 and the BMW 7 Series E32. The Ingolstadt company tried its luck in 1989 with the V8.

The silhouette has already been seen

It all started with the Audi 200 in 1979. It was the first draft of Audi’s flagship. The type of maxi-Audi 100, 200 is technically well-born. It even has an infection “Quattro” series. It’s enough to cause problems for BMW 5 Series and other Mercedes 200/300 until 1986. But Audi wants to go further.

Audi It will be based on 200 entering the heavyweight category, joined by the Mercedes 500 W126 and the BMW 7 Series. After three years of gestation, the V8 was released in 1989.

Presented at the Paris Motor Show, it is also intended for export, mainly for the American market.

The V8 is characterized by its increased volume. Of course, he takes it 16 cm extra in height, compared to 200, to reach the peak 4,86 m. The wheel is extended and the spokes are extended. In detail, the front face is equipped with large optics. Sports grill symbol “V8”. The posterior is equal to 200, known as the width of the red-red light.

The V8’s interior combines leather and real wood on the seats and door panels. Audi wanted to be as close as possible to Mercedes and BMW by removing its entire equipment list from its flagship. On paper, the plan has been successful: automatic air conditioning, heated seats, a high-end Bose hi-fi system, cruise control, an on-board computer, and even wool carpet. !

At this precise moment, Mercedes is threatened, with its aging 500 W126, and BMW is starting to frown, despite its excellent 7 Series.

The first V8 in Audi history

Under the hood, Audi has a restriction V8 3.6 ongoing 250 chapters on its output. This engine is actually a combination of two Volkswagen Golf GTI blocks. It is associated with a 5-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive “Quattro” set as standard. A 6-speed manual gearbox is recommended in 1991at the request of some customers.

In 1992, The The V8 has been downsized to a 4.2 and see his strength pass away 280 chapters. Audi is also introducing an L version with an enlarged wheelbase.

Performance is there, mechanical reliability, very little. His interview it confirms especially expensive and ended up disappointing his customers Fast conversion to DTM it doesn’t change anything about his image, despite it victory in 1990 and 1991.

The number of sales remains very small, and 21,565 copies were sold between 1989 and 1994. It is very thin, compared to the terrible BMW 7 Series E32 and his 310,000 copies for that period.

Despite this failure, Audi was smart in reusing many parts already seen in the 2000s. This saved a lot of money considering the planned launch of A8 D2 until 1994many more reviews have come true.