Audi A8 L 60 TFSI e

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Audi A8 L 60 TFSI e quattro, the long-wheelbase, all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid saloon of the fourth-generation (D5) A8, with the 3.0L turbocharged V6 petrol plug-in hybrid powertrain. It is not a guide to the A8 L (D5) with the plain 3.0 V6 petrol engine and no electric motor, which has its own entry in our catalogue and is a different car: our catalogue stores 335 bhp and 500 Nm for it, and it has no battery, no charging port and no electric range. It is also not a guide to the standard-wheelbase A8 60 TFSI e, to the S8 or to the 4.0 V8 cars. Where those differ we say so below, because an advert that says only "A8 hybrid" can describe more than one car.

We have not driven this model for this article. Everything here comes from three cited sources: the Audi Media Center page for the A8 L TFSI e on audi.com, the PistonHeads used hybrid Audi A8 listings page, and the government recall checker. We also read Audi UK's 2019 launch release (as republished by conceptcarz), the Audi Media Center page for the standard-wheelbase A8 TFSI e, Auto Express's 2022 review of the updated car and the Driving Electric A8 page, and we flag every point that rests on them. The Audi UK site itself refused our request (HTTP 403), and we did not work around that. Where sources disagree we say so rather than pick a winner quietly. Prices are history, not valuations, and we give none.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 3.0L turbocharged V6 petrol plug-in hybrid. The V6 is 2995 cc (84.5 x 89.0 mm bore and stroke, 11.2 compression) and makes 250 kW (340 PS) between 5000 and 6400 rpm and 500 Nm from 1370 to 4500 rpm on its own, according to Audi. A permanently excited synchronous motor sits in the eight-speed tiptronic gearbox with a peak output of 100 kW and 350 Nm, which is about 134 bhp by our conversion.
• Power: 456 bhp, which is Audi's current system output of 340 kW (462 PS) converted by us (462 x 0.9863 is about 455.7). Audi's page prints the same figure as 462 hp, and 340 kW gives about 456 bhp on its own conversion too. The car launched with a lower rating of 330 kW (449 PS), which is about 443 bhp, and PistonHeads' listings show both figures (443 BHP on a 2021 car, 456 BHP on 2023 cars).
• Torque: 700 Nm of system torque, unchanged between the launch release and today's Audi page. Audi's launch release says it is available from 1250 rpm.
• 0-100 km/h: 4.9 seconds, which Audi's text states for the powertrain today. The launch release gave 4.9 seconds for 0-62 mph, which is a slightly longer test than 0-100 km/h, so the two are close but not identical. The A8 L data table on the same Audi page prints 4.7 seconds for system acceleration, a disagreement we could not resolve, so treat both as claims.
• Top speed: 250 km/h, electronically limited, with up to 135 km/h (83.9 mph) on electric power alone, per Audi's data table. The launch release says 155 mph governed and 83 mph electric.
• Drive: all-wheel drive, with quattro permanent all-wheel drive through the eight-speed tiptronic.
• Weight: Audi's page gives 2340 kg unladen without driver for the A8 L, 2415 kg with a driver and a gross weight limit of 2950 kg. The standard-wheelbase car is listed at 2310 kg.
• Electric range: Audi's launch release quoted up to 28.6 miles (46 km) on the WLTP cycle with a 14.1 kWh battery. Audi's current page lists a combined electric range of 52 to 58 km (32.3 to 36.0 miles) and a 14.4 kWh net battery, and Auto Express says the updated car manages 36 miles.

Why the power figure changes between sources

Audi's data sheets print PS, which is metric horsepower, and the English-language Media Center text labels the same 340 kW figure hp (462 hp). Brake horsepower is about 1.4 per cent lower, so 462 PS is about 456 bhp and 449 PS is about 443 bhp. The two different bhp figures you see in adverts are therefore not different engines, they are two output ratings of the same car: the original 449 PS rating and the later 462 PS rating. Driving Electric's A8 page prints 443 bhp and 700 Nm for the earlier car, and Auto Express prints 456 bhp and 700 Nm for the updated one. Our catalogue uses 456 bhp, which is the figure Audi currently publishes. If you are checking a car, look at the specification on the registration document or the build sheet, not only at the advert headline.

One more reading trap is the combined figure itself. 456 bhp is system output, which needs the petrol engine and the electric motor working together with some battery charge. With a flat battery, Audi's own page quotes the V6 alone at 340 PS, so the car will feel much less eager. Audi also prints two very different sets of fuel figures on the same page: 2.1 to 2.0 l/100 km in the headline, and 5.2 to 4.5 l/100 km weighted in the data table, plus 9.5 to 8.8 l/100 km with a discharged battery. The last number is the one that matters on a long motorway journey with the battery spent.

How the battery and range story differs between years

The original A8 L 60 TFSI e used a 14.1 kWh high-voltage battery of 104 pouch cells in eight modules under the luggage floor, with a voltage of 385 V, according to Audi's launch release. Auto Express's 2022 review says the updated car's battery grew to 17.9 kWh and the electric range rose from 29 to 36 miles. PistonHeads labels a 2023 car as 17.9 kWh. Audi's own current page, however, calls the battery 14.4 kWh net. We think 17.9 kWh is probably a gross figure and 14.4 kWh the usable one, but we could not confirm that from any source we read, so we do not claim it. What matters for a buyer is that the cars differ: early cars are 449 PS with about 28 to 29 miles of range, and later cars are 462 PS with about 36 miles. Ask the seller which one they are selling, and do not assume that a long-wheelbase hybrid with a 2021 registration has the later battery.

What the 60 TFSI e is like to live with

Auto Express's 2022 review found the car smooth and quiet, with a good electric range for the class and a luxurious, high-quality interior. It also said that the Mercedes S-Class rides slightly better, that there is no stronger regenerative braking mode and that the car is not involving for the driver. The Driving Electric page, which covers the pre-update car, notes a slight driveline shunt when the engine fires up, an occasional lumpy shift and a brake pedal that is harder to modulate than in a regular A8 because of regeneration. Those are the symptoms to test for on a drive. Audi's launch release describes EV, Hybrid Auto and Hybrid Hold modes, a predictive efficiency system that uses navigation data, and up to 80 kW of recuperation under braking.

Buying and ownership checks

• Confirm the model: A8 L, 60 TFSI e, 3.0 V6 petrol plug-in hybrid, quattro. A long car with only a plain 55 TFSI badge is the petrol guide, not this one.
• Check the charging cable and the charging flap, and ask whether the owner has an app history for the car. Audi lists the myAudi app and Audi e-tron Charging Service for charging control.
• Run the car on electric power only and then in hybrid mode, and watch for any warning light or loss of electric range. We have no source on battery degradation, so we cannot give a typical figure.
• Drive it with the battery empty. The V6 on its own is slower and thirstier, and the engine start should not be harsh.
• Ask for an Audi dealer's full service history with software updates, since a hybrid saloon of this size depends on them. We found no price list for servicing or parts, so we give none.
• Check the air suspension on a rough road, because Driving Electric found the ride short of the best in the class on poor UK surfaces.
• Look at the boot floor and the rear of the car, because the battery sits under the luggage floor. Our general advice is to ask whether any repair has touched it.

Recalls and the DVSA check

We did not run the government checker, because it needs a registration number or the manufacturer, model and year, and we are not looking at a specific car. The page says that if you know the registration number you can see safety recalls that have not been checked or fixed, plus the MOT history, and that the manufacturer will tell you about any recall that is not a safety one. It also says a manufacturer will write to you about a serious safety defect. We did not find any A8 plug-in hybrid recall in the sources we read, so we do not list one, but that is not proof that none exists. Run the registration through GOV.UK and ask an Audi dealer to confirm anything outstanding.

Is the car still sold?

Audi's own Media Center page for the A8 L TFSI e carries an as-of date of 20 August 2026 and still lists the A8 L 60 TFSI e quattro. We therefore leave the end year of production open, but we have not confirmed UK or European availability from a dealer, so check before you assume a new car can be ordered. The earlier statement in Audi's UK launch release that ordering opened at the end of 2019 with first deliveries in early 2020 is why our catalogue keeps 2019 as the start year, which is the announcement year and not a firm date for the first customer car.

Verdict

The A8 L 60 TFSI e quattro is a 456 bhp, 700 Nm plug-in hybrid, a claimed 4.9 seconds to 100 km/h with a limit of 250 km/h, all-wheel drive and built for comfort, with a real electric range of around 30 miles in cool weather and a very different feel once the battery is flat. It is a chauffeur-class car, and the buying questions are about which version you are looking at, the state of the battery and charging, and the drivetrain's smoothness when the engine joins in. We have not driven it, so use these sources and a proper inspection to decide.