Audi Kinda Wants a Two-Door A8, but Probably Can’t

Audi Kinda Wants a Two-Door A8, but Probably Can’t

The upcoming BMW 8 Series is giving Audi some ideas.

Well, it’s the new year and not much has happened yet. So here’s a story of minor interest: Marc Lichte, Audi’s design boss, has told that he likes the idea of a two-door version of the A8, but admits that making a business case for it is hard.

“I love the shape of a two-door coupé, but it is also true that the [sales] volumes [for them] are much lower than for four-doors,” Lichte told the UK publication. “In the future, who knows? We have many ideas in this direction.”

Inspired by the BMW 8 Series and the Mercedes S-Class Coupe, which are as imminent as they are attractive, the idea would be to lop two doors off the A8 and that’s about it. So the German industry is discovering what the Americans found out in the ’60s: big coupes with big engines are primordially cool.

SEE ALSO: Audi A8 Gets Aggressive New Appearance Package in Europe

With a big engine, lots of space, and not enough doors, the car doesn’t really make any sense and is all the more desirable for it, since nothing practical can ever be truly cool.

Despite that, our review of the S5 Sportback proves first that Audi has no trouble making great four-doors, and second that the trend is towards more doors, not fewer.

Regardless, if ever Audi actually decides to go for a full-size coupe, we have a pretty good idea of what it will look like thanks to the Prologue concept that premiered the brand’s new design direction at the LA auto show in 2014.

Although he wouldn’t rule the idea out completely, he did firmly say that there are more important projects to take care of first.

“First we must launch the A6, then we have the Q8 next year, A1 and Q3,” he told Autocar. “We won’t do anything before this. It’s step by step.”

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