Audi officially unveiled the new facelifted version of its A8 luxury sedan. And while visual changes are scarce, they have been really busy upgrading the oily bits. Every engine in the range is tweaked, and there is a new hybrid model to take on Merc’s brilliant new S500 plug-in hybrid.

Lets begin with that hybrid model and see what it has to offer. The system powering the 2014 Audi A8 Hybrid consists of a 2.0 TFSI and electric motor to produce a combined 180 kW (245 hp) and 480 Nm (354.03 lb-ft) of torque. It is front-wheel-drive, averages 6.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (147 grams CO2 per kilometer, and has an electric range of just 3 kilometers. So nowhere near as good as the Merc.

The conventional engine lineup is better, boasting the supercharged 3.0 TFSI with 228 kW (310 hp), the V8 twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI with 320 kW (435 hp), the highly efficient 3.0 TDI clean diesel with 190 kW (258 hp) and the extremely high-torque 4.2 TDI clean diesel, which produces 283 kW (385 hp) and 850 Nm (626.93 lb-ft).

Then we have the magnificent S8 model which features the new 4.0 TFSI with 380 kW (520 hp). It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 4.2 seconds, and does around 10.7 liters/100 km. You can also go for the A8L W12 quattro with a gigantic 6.3 liter engine developing 368 kW (500 hp) and averaging 11.7 liter/100km.

Design-wise, while the 2014 Audi A8 Facelift may look to you exactly the same as every other Audi sedan that’s ever been, but it has revised hood and grille, and new head and taillights. Speaking of the lights, they feature Matrix LED technology and some fancy sequential indicators. What’s more, in the new model the adaptive cruise control with Stop&Go function is coupled with an expanded version of the standard Audi pre sense basic safety system.