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The new Audi A8 has just been launched in Miami, ahead of its arrival in UK showrooms next March.

The new car has lost the mass and bulk of the current model’s styling, replacing it instead with design themes from the A4. Much of the A8’s exterior design is lifted from the A4, especially around the front and rear.

Hi-res pictures of the new Audi A8

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Well - even with the limited amount of images - it looks quite a clean and well resolved design - the lines mask the cars size quite nicely and are pretty crisp. the interior looks very high quality also.

 cue the inevitable comments now about it being a bloated A4/A5/A6 blah blah.....

Too bad, looks just boaring. I know, with a car like this, you can´t do a break through design, but come on, you can do more than just pump up the A4.

Position of new MMI controller worries me - looks like a reach for the driver and won't your hand foul that gear shifter thing?

Not sure about this touchpad - sounds like a gimmick (like voice control) that journalists like but no one who owns one ever uses.

BMW's latest iDrive works brilliantlyso this stuff is dangerous for Audi - its the sort of detail that really worries people who actually buy the things!

This looks great.  I love it, a clean and pure large car design.  The nicest Audi by far, the A4's boot is just too short and looks odd, the A5 has that silly swage line that does not go with the roof and makes it look odd .... no, this is spot on.  And compared to the ugly S Class, the nowhere near as nice as the XF new Jaguar XJ and the 'I will swallow your car with my oversized grilles' BMW 7 .... well if I am ever lucky enough to get to spend £65k on a saloon ... this is the one for me.

 For me it has lost the gravitas of A8s of old.

I wouldn't want to pay that knd of money for an A4 look-a-like.

Hmmm...Not a massive departure from the old but it looks quite good.  Must admit, I find the previous A8 a good looking car and a little bit more interesting than this.

 

Interior looks great though.  Really like the new centre console and overall look of the new dash.

Zeddy:

For me it has lost the gravitas of A8s of old

  Judging from the pictures I would agree; the previous A8s had great presence on the road.  We'll just have to wait until we see this new one in the metal.

The new A4? Opps sorry, A8.

 Massive Fail, bland, uninspired, won't be as good as an S-Class.

Now that really is just a big A4.

EPIC disaster. Reminds me of a 1980's Mk1 Rover 800.

 Jaguar XJ all the way for me.

From the pics, I would say the A8 is quite a disappointment.  The car is so bland, being just a larger scale of the A4, it makes you wonder why they need to employ designers at Audi - a good photocopier will do!