Audi’s A8 has thus far seemed to enjoy longer life cycles than its competitors. Just look at the last one, which went without a replacement for an astounding 10 years. Compare that to less than seven years for Mercedes’ previous S-Class or BMW’s last 7 Series. Despite its long model cycles, the A8 somehow manages to retain its place as a unique alternative to the two Teutonic giants that fill the majority of executive garages.

So if it’s a full model revamp you’re looking for this year, you’ll just have to wait until 2009, when Audi is expected to reveal an entirely new A8 (as a 2010 model). This time around, Audi’s flagship makes do with a subtle facelift and some comfort and safety tweaks. And that’s just fine—with or without the update, the A8 is a supremely capable car.

It takes a keen eye to spot the minor differences between the current model and its immediate predecessor. If you’re not sure why the nose looks a little bit statelier, it’s thanks to a new one-piece grille. Out back, the LED taillights are styled differently and, in conjunction with LED blinkers in the side mirrors, help to bring the car up to date with its German competitors. Audi also offers several new wheel styles and a couple new paint colors, but other than that, the exterior goes untouched.

The new mirrors are home to Audi’s side assist, which uses a strip of LEDs to warn the driver of vehicles in the blind spot. At first, the system is hard to notice, but eventually the eyes become trained to watch for the heads-up. Should the driver still miss the cue and put the blinker on, the lights become substantially brighter and flash repeatedly.

The new A8 can be fitted with another new safety feature, called lane assist. Using an optical sensor mounted above the rear-view mirror, the car spots lane markings on the road and vibrates the steering wheel when you’ve strayed off course. The sensor has three selectable levels of sensitivity, and the steering wheel vibration can be set in three levels as well. During testing, we found the highest setting to be ideal in both cases—but then again, we never fell asleep behind the wheel. The system goes inactive below speeds under 31 mph, or when the blinker is engaged.

Your vibrating steering wheel now commands a more precise steering rack. The new rack is standard equipment across the entire A8 line after Audi lifted it from the sportier S8. In our hands, it offers the ratio that should have been—never feeling too sensitive and certainly not over-assisted, with confidence-inspiring feedback that positively belies the A8’s size.

The innovative air suspension on which the A8 rides has been tweaked for 2008. Audi says that the new design reduces friction and does a better job of ironing out minute road imperfections, but we didn’t note any massive improvement. Maybe that’s because the previous suspension wasn’t broken in the first place.

We didn’t exactly think of the 2007 A8 as a terribly noisy car, but thanks to the use of “textile surfaces and fiber fleece materials,” the car now sports the lowest rolling, road and ambient noise levels in its class. And if you’re the quietest in this plush and hushed class, you’re one of the quietest cars in the world—period.

Engine options remain unchanged, the choices being a 4.2-liter 350-hp V8 or the velvety-smooth W12, which pumps out 450 hp. The W12 isn’t the only way to get that kind of grunt under the hood, though. The more sporting S8 uses a Lamborghini V10 that’s been bored out to 5.2 liters and tuned with Audi’s own FSI to provide to provide an equivalent 450 hp.

One more change you’ll need to know about in 2008 is the price. Both V8-powered cars, the A8 and the A8L, will see an increase of $1790, bringing prices to $70,690 and $74,690, respectively. The V10-powered S8 sneaks from $92,000 to $93,900, while the A8L W12 only gets a $750 bump, to $120,100. If you want to add the handy safety systems we mentioned above, you can do so only as a package ($1400) to any A8.

It’s often hard to find room for improvement in cars of this segment, and the A8 is hardly an exception to this rule. Maybe the A8’s incredible competence is the reason it’s lived on for so long. —James Tate