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Audi's XXL limo: This A8 has 6 doors, 6 seats!

Ingolstadt – Audi has gone great lengths to deliver all of the familiar trappings associated with its flagship A8 L model in an entirely unique format of considerable proportions.

At the request of one of its European customer, the automaker has created the Audi A8 L extended; a built-to-order version measuring 6.36m in length and with a wheelbase of 4.22m.

The A8 L extended affords exquisite comfort for passengers while offering six seats. Is there a demand such an uber Audi? According to the automaker, it has already received many requests for the custom A8 L.

Audi's engineers invested almost a year in developing and building the exceptionally long luxury vehicle. Audi says the major challenges faced concerned the safety and rigidity of the extra-large body, as well as the styling of the silhouette. 

The result is an exclusive one-off specimen that meets the high standards of the production model. 

Still an A8

The A8 L extended, says Audi, benefits from the low-weight of the production model’s body, which uses an frame comprised almost entirely from aluminium. For the built-to-order version the engineers extended the side sills and centre tunnel using extruded aluminium sections. Inside the tunnel, these also assist with the air routing. 

A photo posted by CarzNewz (@carznewz) on

A double rear bulkhead separates the passenger compartment from the luggage compartment; the roof incorporates additional aluminium profiled tubes and cross-braces. These measures provide torsional and flexural rigidity almost on a par with the A8 L, reports the automaker.

The XXL sedan offers 1.09m more wheelbase and overall length than the standard Audi A8. The entire body, from the A-pillar and beyond, has been reworked. The vehicle has a 2.40m glass panel embedded in roof.

The sun blinds – one for each row of seats – prevent overheating of the interior in strong sunlight. The headlights and rear lights incorporate small side marker lights, as is prescribed by law for vehicles of this length, says Audi.

Individual comfort

All passengers face the direction of travel in the Audi A8 L extended. The six seats are upholstered in extra-supple Valcona leather, in the colour velvet beige. Rows two and three feature electrically adjustable individual seats. The third row has a continuous centre console, a Rear Seat Entertainment display and a cool box.

The one-off A8 version is powered by a 3.0 TFSI engine capable of 230kW/440Nm, propelling the sedan to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds and up to an electronically governed top speed of 250km/h. An eight-speed tiptronic gearbox transfers engine power to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. The 19" wheels in 15-spoke design conceal the brake system of the Audi S8, which assures outstanding deceleration of the over six-metre-long luxury saloon, with its unladen weight of 2418kg.

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