Audi revives Horch name for China-bound A8 limo

By dpa | 5 November 2021


BERLIN: Audi is harking back to the historic Horch brand name for a prestige Chinese market version of its refreshed A8 flagship limousine.

The long wheelbase Horch L for China is 13cm longer than the regular extended version of the fourth-generation A8 introduced in 2017.

Rivalling the Mercedes-Benz Maybach version of the S Class, the Horch L is packed to the gills with tech and features up to 40 assistance systems.

The 5.45-metre long limo Horch also cossets its rear seat passengers with back massage seats, feet warmers, four-zone air-conditioning and even a fold-down table.

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The extras are designed to appeal to wealthy buyers in China where plutocratic, fully-equipped limos go down well. Most of the A8s sold there and in North America are long versions.

Young buyers will probably have never heard of Horch which is old German for the latin-derived brand name Audi, meaning the imperative "listen!".

There are no plans to introduce the Horch L in Europe where the new car will still be badged as an A8.

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A notable new A8 feature are new headlamps which each contain around 1.3 million micro-mirrors which disperse the light into tiny pixels, meaning they can be precision-adjusted.

The enhanced A8 also comes with OLED rear lights as a standard feature.


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