Audi just created a one-off super-sized A8 L limousine. Why? Because a customer requested it.
The car measures in at 20.9-ft long, which exceeds the minimum length of an actual yacht, and named its ship on wheels the A8 L Extended.
While limousines are typically manufactured by coach builders, which chop up production cars to add some length and usually ruin the over lines of a car, the A8 L limousine was a proper in-house job. Audi engineers kept the A8's sharp lines intact, even with an extra pair of doors.
The panoramic glass roof is extended to 7.9 ft - about a foot shorter than a Smart Fortwo. All the seats face forward. If you're stuck in the back, don't feel put out: the third row is the only place with a rear-seat entertainment system and built-in cooler.
Powering the A8 L Extended is a low-rung 3.0-liter supercharged V6 making 310 hp and 324.5 lb-ft of torque. Audi claims the A8 XXL can hit 0-62.1 mph in a brisk 7.1-seconds. It won't break any performance records, but it isn't terribly slow.
An eight-speed automatic transmission drives all four wheels via Audi's Quattro technology, so it should be a great winter vehicle, too. The extra length does add weight, so Audi engineers fitted the car with larger brakes from the performance-oriented S8 sedan.
I'll admit I'm a sucker for special one-off cars based off production models, so the A8 L Extended caught my attention. Now the only questions I have left are, will we see an even crazier S8 Extended with the twin turbo V8 with 605 hp in extended form, and would Jason Statham pilot it for a fifth installment of The Transporter series?
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