Audi A8 L (D5)

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Audi A8 L (D5), the long-wheelbase version of the fourth-generation A8, in its 3.0L turbocharged V6 petrol form sold as the 55 TFSI quattro, with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and an eight-speed tiptronic automatic. It is not a guide to the standard-wheelbase A8 with the same engine, the 50 TDI diesel, the 60 TFSI e plug-in hybrid (which has its own entry in our catalogue), the S8 with its 4.0 litre V8, or the W12 and V8 cars that were announced alongside the 3.0 V6 in 2017. Where those cars differ we say so below, because an advert that says only "A8 L" can describe several quite different machines.

We have not driven this model for this article. Everything here rests on three cited sources: Audi's own German technical data sheet for the A8 L 55 TFSI quattro (status 28 May 2025, published on the Audi media centre), PistonHeads' used buying guide to the D5 S8 (6 July 2024), which is the closest PistonHeads guide to this platform that we found, and the government recall checker. We also read an October 2024 revision of the same Audi sheet, the October 2025 sheet for the standard-wheelbase A8, Audi's A8 L model page, a September 2017 presales report, the Irish launch report of July 2017 and news coverage of the end of orders in 2026. Where sources disagree we say so, rather than pick a winner quietly. Prices are history, not valuations.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 3.0L turbocharged V6 petrol, 2995 cc, bore and stroke 84.5 x 89.0 mm, compression ratio 11.2:1. Audi lists direct injection plus intake manifold injection, an intercooler and a gasoline particulate filter, with a Euro 6e-bis emissions standard on the 2025 sheet.
• Power: 335 bhp. Audi quotes 250 kW (340 PS) at 5000 to 6400 rpm. Audi quotes PS, so we converted it ourselves: 340 PS x 0.9863 is about 335 bhp. Launch coverage in 2017 printed the same output as 340 hp or 340 bhp, which is the PS figure under another name.
• Torque: 500 Nm from 1370 to 4500 rpm, which Audi also prints as 368.8 lb-ft.
• 0-100 km/h: 5.7 seconds on both Audi A8 L sheets we read (October 2024 and May 2025). The standard-wheelbase A8 sheet of October 2025 prints 5.6 seconds. That is the figure our catalogue used to hold for this car, so it was the standard car's time, not the long car's.
• Top speed: 250 km/h, which Audi describes as governed, meaning electronically limited.
• Drive: all-wheel drive, quattro permanent with a self-locking centre differential, through an eight-speed tiptronic with a hydraulic torque converter and lock-up clutch.
• Mild hybrid: a 48-volt on-board system alongside the usual 12-volt one. The September 2017 presales report says a belt-driven generator unit lets the car coast with the engine off, restarts it smoothly and recovers up to 12 kW, with Audi claiming savings of up to 0.7 litres per 100 km in real driving. We have not tested any of that.
• Size and weight: 5320 mm long, 1945 mm wide without mirrors, 1476 to 1502 mm high, wheelbase 3128 mm. Unladen weight is 1980 kg without a driver and 2055 kg with one, with a gross limit of 2755 kg.

What the long wheelbase means

The standard A8 sheet of October 2025 gives 5190 mm in length and a wheelbase of 2998 to 3000 mm, against 5320 mm and 3128 mm for the A8 L, so the long car adds about 130 mm. It also weighs about 20 kg more unladen (1960 kg against 1980 kg) and, by Audi's figures, is a tenth of a second slower to 100 km/h. The rear passengers are the reason the car exists. If you are buying for the back seat, confirm that the car in front of you is an L and not simply a car carrying L badges from another market. Check the registration document and the vehicle identification number against the specification, and ask the seller to show the wheelbase on the paperwork if there is any doubt.

The luggage compartment behind the second seat row is 505 litres on the A8 L sheet. We did not read the standard-car figure, so we make no comparison.

Model years and the end of the line

Audi revealed the fourth-generation A8 at its Audi Summit in Barcelona on 11 July 2017. The September 2017 presales report says German customers could order from 5 October 2017, that the car would reach the German market at the end of November 2017 and that prices started at 90,600 euros for the A8 and 94,100 euros for the A8 L. It gave 5.6 seconds to 100 km/h for the A8 and 5.7 seconds for the A8 L, which matches the sheets today. The July 2017 Irish report listed the 3.0 TFSI petrol and 3.0 TDI diesel at launch, with a 4.0 TDI, a 4.0 TFSI and a W12 following and a long-wheelbase plug-in hybrid later. We did not find a UK on-sale date and have not confirmed the 2018 start that some UK listings use, so we keep 2017 as the start year, matching our catalogue.

Audi's model page shows a sharpened design update, announced in a press release dated 2 November 2021 and a second one in February 2022. The page was stamped 20 August 2026 when we read it and still listed the 55 TFSI and 50 TDI for the A8 L. In 2026 news reports say Audi stopped taking A8 orders in Germany on 18 February 2026 and that production is ending, but we found no official end date, and Audi says only that it will give further details about a possible successor later. We therefore leave the end year blank and say the car is listed until Audi confirms otherwise.

Why the quoted performance varies

Power and torque have not moved: 340 PS and 500 Nm appear on the 2017 report, the 2024 sheet and the 2025 sheet. What moves is the label and the market. Audi's German sheet files the car as TFSI quattro, its model page as 55 TFSI, and a German sheet is a German sheet: we did not read a UK sheet, so UK equipment, wheel sizes and fuel economy figures may differ. Fuel consumption on the May 2025 sheet is 10.4 to 9.3 litres per 100 km and CO2 is 236 to 212 g/km, which Audi puts in class G. At the 82 litre tank size, our own sum gives a theoretical range of about 790 to 880 km, and no owner will see that all the time.

The 0-100 km/h figure is Audi's own claim, rounded to a tenth of a second and measured on the manufacturer's terms. The sheet prints it as 0-100 km/h (0-62.1 mph), so there is no separate 0-60 mph figure to confuse the matter. Treat it as a guide, not a promise for any individual car.

What to check before buying

• Confirm which A8 you are looking at: long or standard, petrol or diesel, V6 or V8, plug-in or not. Use the VIN and the build specification, not the badge.
• Check the 48-volt mild-hybrid battery and its software, and ask for the dealer history. The PistonHeads S8 guide says the battery needs to be kept in good condition, given the complex systems on the S8, which shares this mild-hybrid platform. A PistonHeads forum thread also claims that 48-volt batteries and generator units across several Audi models can fail expensively. We read that only in a search summary, it is one forum's opinion, and we have found no price for the repair, so treat it as a question to ask and not as evidence.
• Ask for evidence of regular servicing. Audi's German interval is 30,000 km or two years, whichever comes first, with 7.6 litres of oil including the filter. We did not check the UK schedule.
• Look at the tyres for uneven wear. The PistonHeads guide to the S8 reports an early 2022 recall to check the rear axle alignment because of uneven tyre wear, and a late 2021 recall for a software fault that delayed the rear camera image when reversing. Those are S8 recalls on the same platform, and we have not checked whether they apply to the A8 L.
• Test every driver aid, screen, camera and lighting function. The A8 is a technology flagship and failures can be pricey to diagnose.
• Check the wheels and tyres. Audi's basic fitment is 235/55 R18 on forged aluminium wheels, but a car with larger wheels is a different ride and a different tyre bill.
• Ask for a specialist inspection, and for the car's history of any recall or software update done at a dealer.

Recalls and the DVSA check

We did not run the government checker, because we are not looking at a particular car. The page says that for a car you can use the registration number or, without it, the manufacturer, model and year of manufacture, that the car check shows safety recalls that have not been checked or fixed, and that for recalls that are not about safety the manufacturer contacts you directly. It also says a car's MOT history comes up with the registration check. It does not name any A8 recall. We found no recall notice for the A8 L itself in our sources, and that absence is not a clean bill of health. Run the registration before you buy, and ask an Audi dealer whether any open service action applies to the VIN.

About the photograph

The picture at the top of this page was taken by Alexander Migl at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, where the car sat on a show stand labelled A8L 55 TFSI quattro. It is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 and was cropped and resized for this page. It shows a show car, not a used one, so it tells you the shape and nothing about condition.

Verdict

The A8 L (D5) 55 TFSI quattro in this guide is a 335 bhp, 500 Nm turbocharged V6 with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, all-wheel drive, 5.7 seconds to 100 km/h and an electronically governed 250 km/h. It is not a fast car by the standards of an S8, and it does not try to be. It is a big, well-equipped saloon whose appeal is space and refinement, and whose risks sit in the electronics and the paperwork rather than in the engine's figures. If you are shopping for one, confirm it is a true long-wheelbase car, run the recall check, ask for a full dealer history and give the mild-hybrid system a proper look. We have not driven it, so use the sources and a proper inspection to decide.