Audi Launches World’s Sportiest Diesel Passenger Car

Following an historic win at the famed Le Mans 24-Hour Race on 17 & 18 June with the R10 TDI, Audi has released its road-going diesel supercar in Australia – the A8 4.2 TDI quattro.

Priced at $210,000, the A8 4.2 TDI quattro boasts 240kW and 650Nm and is a clear demonstration of how the Audi brand utilises its sporting technology for its road cars, setting new technical standards on an ongoing basis.

With this range-topping diesel highlight, Audi has combined the opposites of sporting dynamism and long-range endurance through low fuel consumption into one extraordinary package.

Offering one of the most powerful compression engines in a production car today, with the launch of this new model in Australia, Audi is in a unique position – offering at least one TDI variant in every passenger car model line, from the A3 to the A8.

Audi’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann, believes that TDI technology will continue to generate sales and image growth for the Audi brand in Australia.

“This incredibly sporting limousine is a superb example of Audi’s innovation with TDI technology. When driving the A8, its hard to imagine you’re in a car with a diesel engine,” Mr Hofmann said.

“It is virtually silent, clean, dynamic and luxurious. The huge reserves of torque, low fuel consumption, lightweight Audi Space Frame technology and class-leading quattro all-wheel drive make this A8 unbeatable. It truly stands apart from its competition,” Mr Hofmann added.

“We expect the A8 4.2 TDI quattro to carve a small, yet important niche in Australia. In terms of its capacity to further enhance Audi’s image as a true pioneer, this variant is a winner,” he added.

The A8 4.2 TDI quattro is offered with a 6-speed tiptronic transmission with Dynamic Shift Program and Sport program. Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive technology is a standard feature on this A8 4.2 TDI quattro.

Low fuel consumption of only 9.7 litres per 100 kilometres from its V8 powerplant means that the A8 can cover around 900km without needing to refuel.

The A8 4.2 TDI complies with EU4 emission standards as the twin exhaust system features a diesel particulate filter DPF fitted as standard. The DPF lasts the lifetime of the vehicle and ensures that any exhaust gases are released harmlessly into the atmosphere. The sheer power and the characteristics of this eight-cylinder power unit once again reaffirm the credentials of the Audi A8 as the sportiest saloon car in the luxury segment. And thanks to its top-of-the-range TDI, Audi yet again demonstrates its expertise and its lead in the development of such powerful, refined and, not least, economical diesel engines.

In brief - TDI background

Audi’s innovation with TDI was unveiled in 1989 at the Frankfurt Motor Show when the company presented the world’s first diesel engine with direct injection and complete electronic engine management for use in passenger cars. This five-cylinder TDI produced 120 hp and 265 Nm and was the birth of the now revolutionary TDI technology, responsible for changing the image of diesel from slow, smelly and noisy to agile, powerful and extremely economical.

Seventeen years later, Audi has once again cemented its reputation as a pioneer with diesel technology, winning the Le Mans 24-Hour Race on 17 & 18 June 2006 with a V12 TDI engine in the R10, and also taking 3rd place.

Worldwide, TDI variants account for around 50 percent of all Audi vehicles sold.

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Isn't that a bit old news - Audi A8 4.2 TDI?


Btw, BMW 745d: 242kW (330HP) / 750Nm

Australia is the keyword here i suppose...


You couldn't resist, huh?

Yawn. Yeah, it is Australia - diesel has really only taken off in the past year or so, but now it's here with a vengeance.

I take more issue with the "World's Sportiest Diesel Passenger Car" part - as if. A Golf GT with 170PS 2.0TDI is more sporty, not to mention a BMW 120d that's also recently launched here.

They should stop smoking whatever they're on and try this new thing called reality.

Haha, good one Snake!

1 series is hardly a ''passenger car'' since it has so limited interior space that only kids can enter as passengers.

You're dead wrong on that one... Except if you think passengers as a Shaq like... I myself am 190cm and i've sat in 1er in the backseat... Pretty much space for such small car.

I can also fit in the backseat of the 1 series if i remove the two front seats.

LOL. I haven't even been in the front of that thing, but I think Yannis must be joking. Or have Audi Australia been giving him the stuff they've been smoking as well?

If space is an issue, then the 320d is also arguably a more sporty car.

Yannis, surely you couldn't claim that the A8 4.2TDI is the sportiest passenger car in the world, regardless of what really is.

Audi A8 is far sportier than any diesel 7 series or S class so what they try to say is that A8 4.2 TDI is the sportiest upper class luxury sedan in the world.