The Audi A8 saloon is already known for being one of the biggest and most luxurious cars on the market. It even currently offers an A8 L derivatives which stretches the legroom in the back. For one customer, however, there still wasn’t enough room from this car, so Audi has created the one-off A8 L Extended with six doors.
Over six metres long
The total length of the Audi A8 L Extended is 6.36 metres long, with the wheelbase alone stretching to 4.22m in length. Modified to seat up to six occupants, the A8 L Extended took Audi an entire year to develop and build.
By redeveloping the A8 from the A-pillar backwards, Audi was able to extend the car’s wheelbase by 1.09m compared to the regular luxury saloon.
Audi says that the two biggest challenges were faced when transforming an A8 L into a six-seater limo. One of these was maintaining the strengthening of the body to a sufficient level. The other big challenge was keeping the styling of the mid-section consistent with the rest of the car.
The A8 L Extended features extra braces throughout the roof and sills. All of the seats are covered in Valcona leather and the second and third row of seats are electrically adjustable. Other onboard features include a cooled box to store food and drinks and sunblinds to stop the sun overheating the interior.
Engine and performance
The engine in the A8 L Extended is the same 3.0-litre V6 petrol unit available with the regular A8 range, mated with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It produces 306bhp and 440Nm of torque and takes 7.1 seconds to travel from zero to 62mph. Audi’s six-seater also uses the same brakes as the performance-focused S8 saloon.
Whether Audi will make more limos like the A8 L Extended for customers is unclear, but the German manufacturer does at least have the know-how to produce another much quicker should the demand come.
