ALPHA ASCENDING

The Audi A8L has arrived fashionably late. Does it have the technological edge it needs to steal the show?

- PARTH CHARAN

That it’s not easy at the top is a truism for the ages. One that’s particularly applicable to top-of-the-line German sedans perpetually locked in combat; luring deep-pocketed merchants with all manner of trinkets and creature comforts in the most cut-throat tech bazaar there is. The delayed arrival of the generational successor of Audi’s long-standing luxury flagship, the A8L, only means that its exhortations need to be much louder than those of its rivals. The “L” suffix is the first of many feathers in its colourful hat. The standard one is no shrinking violet, but the L-badged model is a bona fide limo, offering extra inches of precious real estate at the back of its space-age cabin. A good start, by any measure. It’s an absolute unit, this car – with an enormous “look at me” grille – possessing the sort of clean-cut and humourless countenance of runway models. On the basis of its size alone, it’s clear that it doesn’t have to take too large a leap to catch up to the competition.