Vehicle

Audi A8

The aluminium-bodied flagship, and the Audi Space Frame is the thing that sets it apart practically: the body is aluminium, so accident repair is a specialist process and corrosion behaves differently from steel. Air suspension is standard rather than optional, which makes a ride-height complaint a compressor, valve-block or strut question first — and a compressor that has failed usually did so working against a leak. The 4.2 TDI V8 and the W12 are both here, and neither shares much with the volume V6.

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Audi A8 — Charles from Port Chester, New York · CC0 (external)

Generations

D2 1994–2002

The first aluminium-spaceframe A8 — body repair needs aluminium-specific procedure and equipment, which is the fact that catches a general workshop out.
- TDI (badge, not an engine)
Body styles

Sedan

Platform

Volkswagen D2
Engines
2.8 V6 — petrol · 128–142 kW (172–190 hp) · 250–280 Nm (184–207 lb-ft)

3.7 V8 — petrol · 169–191 kW (227–256 hp) · 315–350 Nm (232–258 lb-ft)

4.2 V8 — petrol · 220–265 kW (295–355 hp) · 400–430 Nm (295–317 lb-ft)

2.5 TDI V6 — diesel · 110–132 kW (148–177 hp) · 310–370 Nm (229–273 lb-ft)
Transmissions

5-speed manual · 6-speed manual · 5-speed automatic

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive · quattro four-wheel drive
D3 2002–2010

The aluminium space frame with standard air suspension; a compressor failure is nearly always secondary to a leak.
Body styles

Sedan

Platform

Volkswagen D3
Engines
3.0 V6 — petrol · 162 kW (217 hp) · 300 Nm (221 lb-ft)

3.2 FSI V6 — petrol · 191 kW (256 hp) · 330 Nm (243 lb-ft)

4.2 V8 — petrol · 246–257 kW (330–345 hp) · 430–440 Nm (317–325 lb-ft)

6.0 W12 — petrol · 331 kW (444 hp) · 580 Nm (428 lb-ft)

3.0 V6 TDI — EA896 · diesel · 171 kW (229 hp) · 450 Nm (332 lb-ft)

4.2 V8 TDI — diesel · 240 kW (322 hp) · 650 Nm (479 lb-ft)

5.2 — petrol · 331 kW (444 hp) · 540 Nm (398 lb-ft) · 10-cylinder, US market 2007-2009
Transmissions

6-speed tiptronic · 8-speed tiptronic

Drivetrain

quattro four-wheel drive · Front-wheel drive
D4 2010–2017

MLB, and the generation where the 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6 becomes the volume engine in most markets.
Body styles

Sedan

Platform

MLB
Engines
3.0 TFSI V6 — petrol · 213–250 kW (286–335 hp) · 420–440 Nm (310–325 lb-ft)

4.0 TFSI V8 — petrol · 309–382 kW (414–512 hp) · 600–650 Nm (443–479 lb-ft) · S8

6.3 W12 — petrol · 368 kW (493 hp) · 625 Nm (461 lb-ft)

3.0 V6 TDI — diesel · 150–193 kW (201–259 hp) · 400–580 Nm (295–428 lb-ft)

4.2 V8 TDI — diesel · 258–283 kW (346–380 hp) · 800–850 Nm (590–627 lb-ft)

2.0 TFSI hybrid — hybrid · 155 kW (208 hp) · 350 Nm (258 lb-ft)

4.2 — petrol · 273 kW (366 hp) · 445 Nm (328 lb-ft) · 8-cylinder, US market 2010-2012
Transmissions

8-speed tiptronic

Drivetrain

quattro four-wheel drive
D5 2017–present

MLB Evo with a 48-volt mild hybrid as standard — an integrated starter-generator putting high-voltage codes on every car in the range.
Body styles

Sedan

Platform

MLB Evo
Engines
3.0 TFSI V6 — mild hybrid

4.0 TFSI V8 — mild hybrid · S8

3.0 V6 TDI — EA897 · mild hybrid

3.0 TFSI e — plug-in hybrid

3.0 V6 — petrol · 250 kW (335 hp)

4.0 V8 mild hybrid — mild hybrid

4.0 V8 diesel — diesel · 320 kW (429 hp)
Transmissions

8-speed Tiptronic automatic

Drivetrain

quattro four-wheel drive

Information, not instruction

CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.

Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.

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