Audi is to launch a 44mpg hybrid A8 in the UK late next year, combining the luxury saloon’s first four-cylinder engine, the 211hp 2.0 TFSI with a 54hp electric motor.
Capable of running for short periods at speeds of up to 62mph, and for 1.86 miles at a constant 37mph, the A8 Hybrid will accelerate from 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds, making it the slowest A8 in the range, but also the most efficient by a long way from the 3.0 TDI’s 174g/km and 42.8mpg that currently leads the range, though a front-wheel drive version with a lower-power 204hp 3.0-litre diesel engine is due in November offering sub-160g/km emissions.
Prices haven’t yet been confirmed for the A8 Hybrid, but the car will get standard 18-inch or optional 19-inch alloys in a unique ten-spoke turbine blade pattern, as well as Arctic Silver standard metallic and three-zone climate control.
Audi has confirmed that the UK won’t be taking the Q5 Hybrid launching early next year, though a hybrid A6 may launch before the A8 arrives at the tail end of 2012.
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