Audi A8 may be cancelled
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Add on top of that the fact that VAG is currently going through a rough time and Audi especially is getting its profits hammered, and I just don't see how they could possibly pull this off. More importantly, the A8 nameplate will become meaningless and forgotten as a flagship if it disappears for half a decade.
Last edited by Motorola; Mar 22, 2026 at 01:15 PM.
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I think we would have already seen prototypes in development by now then if that was the case. The D5 A8 had a test mule spotted four years before its first official model year. Meanwhile, like you said, we just learned that Audi's replacement for the A8 (the Grand Sphere) was scrapped and now they have to start from scratch. Short of another refresh for the D5 in the same vein as what Porsche did to the Panamera, I don't see how they will be able to develop and sell a brand new flagship sedan in the span of <4 years. And whatever refresh they make for the D5 would be dead on arrival by the time 2030 rolls around and Mercedes introduces the next generation S-Class.
Add on top of that the fact that VAG is currently going through a rough time and Audi especially is getting its profits hammered, and I just don't see how they could possibly pull this off. More importantly, the A8 nameplate will become meaningless and forgotten as a flagship if it disappears for half a decade.
Add on top of that the fact that VAG is currently going through a rough time and Audi especially is getting its profits hammered, and I just don't see how they could possibly pull this off. More importantly, the A8 nameplate will become meaningless and forgotten as a flagship if it disappears for half a decade.
The decision was made in December 2025 to start D6 development as an ICE model New Audi A8 from Neckarsulm comes as a combustion engine - development is already underway - STIMME.de and in this article from January they reported that the D5 will be ending production this year H2. They're alleging it'd the MSB platform but we'll see.
A report from July 2025 Audi A8: From flagship to bottleneck
The plan was actually clear: The new top models of all of the group's luxury brands were to be created on the SSP 61 electric platform, which was adopted in 2022, from 2025. Bentley, Lamborghini – and Audi. But this plan has long since slipped. The SSP 61 will not be available until 2029 at the earliest, if at all.
At that time, in the fall of 2022, Gernot Döllner was still at the table as head of strategy for the VW Group. He prevailed over Audi's internal SSP 51 and brought the SSP 61, which had been developed close to Porsche, into position. Sportier, cheaper, but not capable of autonomy. The then Audi boss Markus Duesmann lost the internal power struggle – and with it architectural sovereignty.Insiders report a possible emergency solution: a new generation based on Porsche's own MSB modular system, actually designed for the Panamera. But that would be a step backwards. No full electrification, no new platform, just a plug-in hybrid at half-mast.
CEO Oliver Blume has now postponed the decision on the future of the SSP 61 until autumn.
Within the company, there is still talk of an electric "land yacht" or the "land jet" – luxurious battleships on four wheels. The reality is more sober: no launch date, no platform, no plan B.
At that time, in the fall of 2022, Gernot Döllner was still at the table as head of strategy for the VW Group. He prevailed over Audi's internal SSP 51 and brought the SSP 61, which had been developed close to Porsche, into position. Sportier, cheaper, but not capable of autonomy. The then Audi boss Markus Duesmann lost the internal power struggle – and with it architectural sovereignty.Insiders report a possible emergency solution: a new generation based on Porsche's own MSB modular system, actually designed for the Panamera. But that would be a step backwards. No full electrification, no new platform, just a plug-in hybrid at half-mast.
CEO Oliver Blume has now postponed the decision on the future of the SSP 61 until autumn.
Within the company, there is still talk of an electric "land yacht" or the "land jet" – luxurious battleships on four wheels. The reality is more sober: no launch date, no platform, no plan B.
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Interestingly there's been no mention of an A8 successor here. The CEO is definitive about the Q9 taking over the flagship position.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/n...-audi-flagship
"The Audi Q9 will be the new flagship of the Audi portfolio," said CEO Gernot Döllner. "This is a particularly important model for the US."
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Autocar is similar to BestCar in the way that their reporting is 50/50 it happens or it doesn't happen. They are still reporting the C9 RS 6 is going to be a twin-turbo V8 even though internal parts catalogues and spy videos have confirmed it's getting a 2.9TTV6 PHEV.
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The C8 RS6 as we know it is dead. Sure, the C9 may have more power, but it wont be ICE as we know it.
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https://www.motor1.com/news/790277/a...r-late-decade/
Here’s what A8 spokesperson Marcel Bestle told us: 'The decision on an A8 successor has been taken and we intend to present it towards the end of this decade. We are going to communicate further details in due course. The Audi Q9 is going to expand the Audi portfolio at the top as large full-size SUV.'
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