A lot of us know who Allan McNish is, but in the event that you can’t put a face to the name, then we’d be glad to give you a brief introduction. McNish is one of the world’s most accomplished race car drivers, having won the American Le Mans Series twice and also the 24 Hours of Le Mans on another two occasions, with his most recent triumph in 2008. Apart from all of that, McNish is also a former Formula One race car driver.
Apparently, when McNish is not busting chops out on the track, the Scottish racer can be seen taking a few laps in an Audi R8 V10. In this video, the Audi driver dissects the R8 V10 from front to rear, touting that “it’s the best car Audi’s ever built.”
While it’s hard to argue with that assertion, we find it difficult to believe that McNish can say something like that especially considering he once sat behind the wheel of an Audi R15 TDI. Then again, McNish did correct himself at the tail-end of the video. Maybe he meant ‘best production car Audi’s ever built’.
In that case, it would be pretty hard to argue that.
We all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as such, everybody here at Topspeed understands the occasion and in our own little way, would like to pay tribute to all those brave women who have fought – or are still fighting – this deadly disease.
For this month, we will be running down a list of the most beautiful and exotic pink-colored cars we can find in the world. It may not mean much to most people, but it’s our way giving respect where it’s due. This list will be dedicated to all those afflicted with breast cancer. Your fight will always be bigger than any of ours, but your courage under such difficult times is something that we admire beyond measure. To all of you fighting breast cancer, know that all of us here at Topspeed are behind you every step of the way. Now, pink cars are slowly becoming somewhat of a trend these days and over the next couple of days, we’re to feature more of these pink-inspired wheels of steel. Without further ado, we begin our list with a pink supercar that is not to be messed with.
If Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blond) were to have a car, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything that can come close to this pinkAudi R8. Just to be clear on one thing: Audi doesn’t have a pink R8 in its fleet, so you can bet that whoever the Dutch fellow is who owns this piece of eye candy had the paint job customized. You have to admit that it’s an eye-catcher, and not just because it’s pink, but it’s a pink R8.
Make no mistake about it, though. Despite it’s color, this R8 is still all-power all the time so you wouldn’t want to go up against this car anytime soon.
We have seen a plethora of pink super cars recently
Everything from the highly modified
Mansory Vitesse Rose based on a Bentley Continental to slightly lesser Lamborghini Gallados, Bugatti Veyrons and even a pink Pagani Zonda. It is foreign to us here at Top Speed, but there is something about this very feminine shade of red that somehow appeals to the owners of some of the world’s most powerful speed machines, and who are we to argue with them.
This two tone extremely pink Audi R8 super car is another fine example of what Barbie, or Paris Hilton for that matter, might be driving if she could cruise he Autobahn. As it comes from the factory, the old R8 is an amazing automobile; with its 420 HP high revving V8 and the stability of Quattro all wheel drive. The new V10 powered R8 however is a beast of a higher pedigree, the 500+ HP aluminum Audi super car will begin to challenge the likes of Lamborghinis worldwide with its newfound power under the clear deck lid.
Personally we would go with flat black before we would go the whole nine yards with a pastel paint like this R8 owner chose to. Despite their best attempts, this feminine finish doesn’t take away from the Audi super car’s powerful appearance. However what we want to know is, where did they get the pink carbon fiber for the R8’s side blades?
Nobody said that you can’t own your own Audi R8, even if it’s the two-dimensional, garden variety type.
That’s exactly what Audi Canada is promoting. In a unique ploy to get you to make your neighbors believe you have the Audi supercar in your garage, Audi Canada is selling a garage door wrap that is designed with an R8 parked inside.
Now, don’t get too excited. The R8 is nothing more than an enhanced photo and dreams of having the real one will cost you millions more. But if you’re the type who has status-seeking neighbors, then this should make them green with envy – at least until they find out that its nothing more than a wrap.
At first we thought that this was created by a novelty store that decided to use the R8 as some sort of prank. But after finding out that Audi Canada was behind this, we had to give them props for a really swell marketing ploy.
In the event that you fancy yourself decorating your garage with an R8, you can get this wrap for $469 Canadian.
If you have grown a little tired of your 420 HP FSI V8 powered Audi R8 super car, then the guys from MFK Autosport might have something that will put a little more spring in your step. Although 16,000 Euro may sound like a lot for an extra 30 HP and a set of staggered rims, it is only a small price to pay for MFK Autosport’s R8 upgrade package, especially when considering the all aluminum super car’s asking price and how dificul it must have been to squeeze any more power out of the high revving eight cylinder engine. Bottom line, if you already own an Audi R8, then you can afford to make it even better with MFK’s ECU, exhaust and wheel upgrade package.
The German luxury car builder Audi showed the world their Lamborghini fighting 5.2 Liter V10 powered R8 Spider at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week, well today they have unveiled a few new images of the four ringed drop top super car that were shot right here in sunny South Florida. As was confirmed at the show, the open air R8 will only be available with the high revving 525 HP FSI ten cylinder engine when it goes on sale next year starting at $227,000.
Weighing in at only 3,792 pounds, the R8 Spider is able to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in under 4.1 seconds; go from 0 to 125 MPH in a little over 12.7 seconds and reach an incredible top speed of 194.49 MPH, all while consuming 15.79 MPG in the manual transmission version, or 16.92 MPG in the R-tronic variant.
Despite all the reports about Audi not having anything electric to share with the world at their home show in Frankfurt was debunked when Audi chairman Rupert Stadler and Audi board member Michael Dick unveiled the 2010 Audi e-Tron concept last Tuesday.
The e-Tron concept takes the R8 super car to the next level, gone are the notions a gas burning TFSI V8 or even a high revving V10 because the e-Tron is powered by a purely electric drive system made up of four electric drive motors, two at the front and two more at the rear axle that uses lithium-ion that allow the e-Tron to travel nearly 150 miles on a single charge. The total output of this electric drive system is 313 HP and 3,319.03 lb-ft of torque, meaning that the car can sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.8 seconds and is expected to be in showrooms as early as 2012.
Just like the power train, the exterior design of the e-Tron differs from the standard R8, for example the signature side blades and huge air inlets will be reduced or completely eliminated as they are unnecessary for an electric vehicle, the front grille will disappear as well. However it’s the deep air intakes in the front bumper underneath the while LED headlamps that will set this particular R8 apart from the standard model. One of the best things about Audi is that almost every single on e of their concept cars goes into production, and the German automaker has said that they will build a small batch of these electrified R8s in 2012.
If you still can’t get over the fact that the Audi R8 now has a Spyder offspring, then here’s something that we hope can satiate your growing appetite for the car.
Days after unveiling the R8 Spyder at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi released a promo video of the car highlighting the it’s plethora of unmatched features while it drives around a host of scenic locations – all in one thirty-second spot.
Unlike other promo car ads that have been sprouting around lately, this particular commercial really captures the emotional charges involved in being behind the wheel of the R8 Spyder. Likewise, the carefully edited soundtrack shifts into high-gear the moment the gas was throttled, giving you the fleeting feeling of freedom that only a speeding R8 Spyder can provide.
Of course, all our descriptions of the ad still won’t do justice to actually seeing it so might we suggest that you go take a look for yourself.
With a fleet of new cars gracing the Frankfurt Motor Show, there haven’t been a lot of brands that have made quite an impression as Audi.
From the mouth-watering R8 Spyder to the out-of-this-world e-Tron Elecrtric concept, Audi has let it be known that they went to Frankfurt with one goal in mind: to have everyone talking about them.
But just when we all that we’ve seen everything Audi had to offer, they come out with yet another shining, glittering ace up their sleeve: the chrome-domed R8 5.2 FSI V10 coupe.
To say that the car got its fair share of attention should be the understatement of the year. After all, who wouldn’t notice this staggeringly beautiful R8 decked out in a chrome finish?
We certainly did and judging by the massive crowds around the car, we’re guessing a lot of people did too.
If earlier today Audi showed us the Spider version of the R8 V10 version, now is time to see how an electric R8 would work. The new E-tron concept is powered by a purely electric drive system made up of four motors – two at the front and two more at the rear axle. The total output of this electric drive system is 313 HP and 3,319.03 lb-ft of torque, meaning that the car can sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.8 seconds, and from 60 to 120 km/h (37.28 – 74.56 mph) in 4.1. Who ever said that electric can’t be fun?
Even if it is based on the R8 super car, the E-tron concept features an unique and distinctive design, like a trapezoidal single-frame grille, two large air intakes, special headlamps that adjust the light depending on weather conditions and a large 19 inch wheel and tire combination. The concept has a weight of only 3,527.40 lb, with 58% of the weight pressing down of the rear axle.
The E-Tron’s top speed is limited to 124.27 MPH, as the amount of energy required by the electric motors increases disproportionately to speed. The range in the NECD combined cycle is approximately 154 miles. This impressive value is made possible by the integrated concept: technology specially configured for the electric drive system combined with state-of-the-art battery technology. The battery block has a total energy content of roughly 53 kilowatt hours, with the usable portion thereof restricted to 42.4 kWh in the interest of service life. In order to keep such high tech equipment from over heating, Audi uses liquid cooling for the batteries.
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