Autonomous tech for 2017 Audi A8

He also ruled out allowing Audis to be used for car-sharing schemes, because those vehicles ‘”soon become dirty and battered and that is not a premium experience for a driver”.

On the issue of motor sport, Audi’s board members said they would “not comment on rumours” that the brand would eventually enter Formula 1, while Hackenberg said Audi was following Formula E "with great interest”.

“At the moment, the type of components used for the cars is quite restricted, but we think that will change," he said. "So when the [Formula E] technology becomes more liberated, we will definitely look [at the series] in more detail.”

New look for next Audi A8

The next-generation Audi A8 will be the first model to get the firm’s all-new look previewed on the Los Angeles motor show Prologue concept when it launches in 2017.

Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed the news to Autocar at the 2014 LA motor show. He said the A8 would be the first car designed from scratch by new design chief Marc Lichte.

"I gave Marc his first job of designing the new A8, and the Prologue concept is a trailer for that," Hackenberg revealed. "This concept is the next step of Audi design. The new A8 will launch by the end of 2016.

"The next A6 and A7 will also have this look. In the A8, there will be a lot of features from the Prologue. The face and the interior in particular; I'm not a fan of concept cars that are too spectacular, so that's why you'll see so much of this design in the new cars."

Hackenberg said Audi was ready for a new design language. "I promised to take care of the design when I came to Audi," said Hackenberg. "We will be making the cars more different, yes. You'll see lots of differences in the new cars.

"Marc is tasked with doing something new, and you need courage and ability to do that. It's a very hard job to do, to regenerate design and take the next step and evolve. Lichte is ambitious and has the ability to do that."

Hackenberg said he and Lichte had arrived too late at Audi to influence the look of more imminent models such as the Q7 and A4, both of which are on sale next year. As such, it'll be the end of 2017 before the new Audi look hits the road. 

Early engineering mules for the next-generation Audi A8 have already hit the road. The 7 Series rival is likely to join the BMW in making its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show in thinly veiled concept guise before going on sale in 2017.

Underpinning the new A8 will be the firm’s newly developed MLB platform, which is set to be used first on the upcoming Q7 SUV replacement.

The MLB platform is different from the Volkswagen Group’s revised MSB platform, which is being engineered by Porsche and will be used by the second-generation Panamera and third-generation Bentley Continental GT range. This means there will be two bespoke platforms for the VW Group’s full-size models.