Audi reveals four new vehicles for the luxury market

Tom Parker

Audi’s 2019 lineup of luxury vehicles is both a nod to its past and a look towards the future− a theme which permeated every element of their unveiling in Vancouver this September.

The event was held at the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station, which opened in 1954 as a locomotive repair shed for the Canadian National Railway, and was repurposed in 2005 as a railway station by the Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours.

Attendees were welcomed by a display that laid the automaker’s traditions bare in the form of its most iconic vehicles, including the Audi R8, S5 and, TT.

Inside the station doors, guests were invited to sample dishes served up by renowned chefs Ned Bell, Patrick Kriss and Vikram Vij−each finding their own way to fuse culinary traditions into modern hors d’ouvres.

And then, the moment we had all been waiting for.

A curtain drop behind a musician playing an electric violin revealed Audi’s 2019 lineup; four vehicles that take the best of the automakers past and seamlessly incorporate the latest in technological innovation.

Though the 2019 Audi A6, A7 and A8 have much in common, each also has its own personality. The A6 is the perfect everyday vehicle, built for narrow city streets and open highways alike. Its sportier sibling, the A7, is the ideal sports sedan−whether you’re venturing cross-town or cross-country. The more mature A8 is the epitome of luxury, the kind of car that demands respect while turning heads.

All three featured the iconic Audi grill and headlamps. Only after further inspection do you notice the additional detail given to everything from the sharp fender arches to the HD Matrix LED designed headlights.

Each also features the uncluttered, endlessly spacious interior that has become the automaker’s trademark. Only after turning the ignition on the dashboard display screen, the onboard computer and the Audi A6’s dual touch screen burst to life.

After a few moments, the crowd was treated to yet another surprise: the all-new Audi Q8−a luxury SUV that is poised to redefine the category. It’s the sort of sports utility vehicle that would feel as natural off-roading on Vancouver Island as it would pulling up to the Vancouver Opera.

The dual 10.1-inch touchscreen and virtual cockpit does away with traditional knobs and buttons, while the 3.0L turbocharged V6 and quattro all-wheel drive reminds the driver that this is one piece of modern luxury design that doesn’t belong hidden away in a showroom.

Indeed, all four of Audi’s latest vehicles carry the torch of its predecessors, bringing the best of the automakers traditions into a new generation of modern luxury driving.

For more informations visit www.audi.ca/strivingmore

CREDITS: Produced by GLOBE CONTENT STUDIO; Photos and text by Tom Parker @tomparkr

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