AUDI has opened the order book for its luxury liner the A8, with prices starting at £58,800.

Due to hit UK streets in January, the latest A8 range sees  revisions to its aluminium Audi Space Frame body along with techno treats like new MatrixBeam LED headlights and an upgraded engine line-up.  

Resculpting of the bonnet, grille, bumper and lower edge of the headlight units has sharpened the new generation A8's front, while the rear tail lamps have been revised with all models bar the S8 now incorporating two rhomboid tail pipes.

New chrome elements, high gloss black window surrounds and five new colours also mark out the updated car.

And it can also now be enhanced by new headlights boasting MatrixBeam Light Emitting Diode technology which, says Audi, sets new benchmarks.

The high-beam function in these lights uses 25 individual LEDs per unit that can be switched on and off or dimmed individually depending on the situation.

This enables the headlight system to react more precisely to other vehicles while always brightly illuminating the road.

When the on-board camera detects other vehicles ahead, the system masks the relevant sections of the high-beam by dimming or shutting off individual diodes. Very bright illumination is preserved in the remaining zones.

The sleeker new standard and long wheelbase A8 has a choice of seven petrol and turbodiesel engines linked to an eight-speed tiptronic transmission.

The supercharged 3.0 TFSI petrol engine is boosted from 290PS to 310PS, the V8 twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI moves from 420PS to 435PS and now incorporates fuel-sparing Cylinder on Demand technology, while the 3.0 TDI increases from 250PS to 258PS and the 4.2 TDI gains 35PS, taking it to 385PS.

Most efficient diesel engine is the 3.0 TDI, which returns up to 47.9 mpg and 155g/km of emissions, and all the engines satisfy the Euro 6 standard, helped by friction-reducing measures which reduce fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent.

Topping the range is the Audi A8 L W12 quattro with its 6.3-litre, 500PS petrol engine with combined fuel consumption of  24.1mpg. And the 520PS S8 remains the ultimate Audi sports saloon, its 4.0 TFSI engine blasting the car from 0-62 mph in 4.1 seconds, yet cylinder on demand technology also permits up to 29.4mpg.

Inside, there's now a new range of upholstery and inlays in fresh colour schemes, front seats with ventilation and massage settings, relaxation seats with powered footrests, electrically adjustable, individual rear seats, a leather-covered centre console and power-assisted door closing.

As for optional technology, there's Audi active lane assist - which makes slight steering adjustments when necessary - a park assist system with 360-degree display and a head-up display, while the night vision assistant can now also recognise larger animals as well as pedestrians.