The 2011 A8 promises a leap ahead in refinement, efficiency, comfort, and style. The all-aluminum 2011 Audi A8 will boast a sumptuous interior and the latest in driving dynamics and active safety technology.The Audi A8 has been casting a growing shadow behind BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, and this fourth generation of Audi’s flagship luxury car features high-tech equipment not yet available in the bigger, more powerful, more popular Mercedes S-Class.
The A8 will offer a system Audi calls Autonomous Partial Braking, which uses a forward-facing camera to detect shapes of pedestrians, other vehicles, and rapidly approaching objects. The system combines what it sees ahead with information from other sensors, including speed, weather, driver inputs, and vehicle dynamics. All of that information makes the car react by braking each wheel optimally and automatically. Unless you have four brake pedals and four right feet, you can’t brake this good.
A new infrared-based thermal imaging pedestrian detection and warning system intended to be used in dark and inclement weather conditions when vision is a problem can detect pedestrians ahead and alert the driver, using a warning tone, a jolt of the brakes, and a visual display on a seven-inch LED information screen in front of the driver.
