It’s finally official: the long waited and highly anticipated Audi R8 Spider has made its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. As previously reported, the drop top R8 will only be available with the 5.2 Liter FSI V10 connected to Audi’s patented quattro all wheel drive system. Sales in Europe will begin in the first quarter of 2010 and retail starting at $227,000. Details for the U.S. market version will be announced at a later date.
The 5.2 Liter FSI V10 in the R8 Spider delivers a maximum output of 525 HP at 8,000 RPM and has a rather high compression ratio of 12.5:1 in order to get the most out of the high revving naturally aspirated power plant. With a weight of 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 a 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.
The all new Audi R8 Spider is being offered with a cloth top that weighs only 66.14 pounds; chosen as a solution by Audi to keep the rag top’s total weight and center of gravity lower in the vehicle. The electro hydraulic soft top opens and closes in 19 seconds, and operates even while driving at speeds of up to 31.07 MPH.
Audi will offer the unit in three different colors, while the car will be available with eleven different paint options, with metallic and pearl effect finishes standard. Like all of Audi’s luxurious convertibles, the reinforced windshield frame is covered with anodized aluminum.
While we continue to ait word on whether or not Audi is unveiling the RS3 in Frankfurt, we do know that the folks from Ingolstadt will be bringing with them the new R8 Spider. That fact alone should make Audi fans salivate at the prospect of seeing the roof-less supercar in all its glory.
But since the Frankfurt Motor Show is still a week away, we believe that new spy shots of the car will do – for now. A number of new spy shots of the R8 Spider were revealed recently, giving everyone more reason to look forward to its official unveiling.
We know that spy shots are all well and good, but with the Frankfurt Motor Show less than a week away, we understand if a lot of you are already gnawing at the idea of seeing the R8 Spider in the flesh. We know we are.
If we were giving you nightmares about being beaten by a hot hatch in your high revving mid engine super car with that last piece on the Sportec tuned Audi TT RS then you can breathe a little easier, because the German tuning house ABT Sportsline have taken the highest horse power version of Audi’s R8 to new heights and while this improvement isn’t as drastic as on the five cylinder TFSI motor, the carbon fiber aerodynamic tweak and bump in grunt are good for shaving 0.1 seconds off the 5.2 Liter Audi R8 V10’s 0 to 60 MPH time, but at this level who’s counting?
The ABT powered R8 makes an extra 75 HP over the base model which is good for a 3.8 second 0 to 60 MPH run. The German super car is adorned with a new carbon fiber front spoiler, side sills and rear apron as well a bespoke rear wing and an ABT tuned quad tipped exhaust complimented by a set of 20 inch BR-type wheels. Christian ABT, the man to talk to at the shop said “the 600 HP is not just intended to exist on paper, but also be available on the road.”
Finding an extra 75 horsepower on an already highly tuned V10 is no easy feat an perhaps that is why ABT is keeping a little tight lipped about what exactly makes up their ABT POWER performance tuning kit, after all ABT is a DTM race team.
Yesterday when I was taking my wife to the HBF (Hauptbahnhauf) and on the way to taking her to her designated platform we spotted a very beautiful Audi R8 just sitting there in the middle of the HBF. I was very suprised to see it in the middle of it. But there were four little tables around this powerful machine for signing up to win the vehicle. Of course, I signed up to win it just to see if I could win something in my worth while but what I think happened is that I wasted 2 minutes of my life writing down my info and even come close to win the supercar. But I can only hope. So, wish me luck everyone. I took pictures of it on my iPhone but my phone was being stupid and did not email the pics to me so I just pulled pics off of google. I mean once youv’e seen one youv’e seent them all, pretty much.
The BMW 8 Series was an excellent grand touring car that combined the upmost in luxury, style and performance throughout the 1990s. The only thing wrong with the car is that the German automaker stopped producing the high performance coupe in 1999 and despite renderings and speculation and one very angry Russian Audi R8 owner.
That is because the owner of this four ringed super car has not only dropped the olympic style linked rings in favor of a spinning propellor not only once, but three times in an attempt to erase any link between the car’s engine and chassis with its original manufacturer, visually at least. The owner even went as far as attaching 850 i badging to the rear deck lid. Now it would be hard to mistake the 420 HP mid engine 4.2 Liter FSI V8 for something from the Bavarian automaker, perhaps if the owner had chosen to go with M badges instead of the round emblem on the engine cover he might have been able to get away with it. While the BMW 850 was a great car the R8 is as well. Perhaps if the disgruntled Audi owner had tried to pass the R8 off as BMW’s mid engine super car the M1 it might have been a bit more believable.
The Audi R8 is quite a high performance machine and most automotive enthusiasts would agree that the four ring wearing super car is already quite appealing in standard trim. However that isn’t good enough for the automaker from Ingolstadt because it looks like they have decided to produce an even better looking version, at least that is what the latest spy shots are showing; a sharper and more refined track-focused R8.
One of the biggest changes from the road car is the large fixed rear spoiler on the back of the R8, bulging scoops incorporated into the carbon fiber side blades and a pair of subtle canards fixed to the front bumper In order to provide a little extra down force to the vehicle. From the picture, it looks like the track day special R8 will wear a new set of wheels as well, but we will have to wait for a production version to confirm exactly what they will look like.
Details are still a bit blurry, but the new R8 will be a limited edition built with more power and less weight. It is still evident how the engine’s output will be increased, but we are almost positive that the plans will include pumping the 5.2 Liter V10 closer to the Lamborghini Gallardo’s LP560-4’s 552 HP.
It comes as no surprise that we find this golden Audi R8 super car in the oil rich capital of over the top tuning, Dubai. What sets this particular R8 apart from all the other GT machines that have undergone the King Midas treatment is that instead of blinding onlookers with a brilliant reflective surface, draws them closer to adore the matte-gold super car. This rendition makes the matte-black R8 with its stealth like finish look rather dull.
The new monochromatic finish completely changes the entire attitude of the pride and joy of Ingolsdadt. If before a mere 420 HP seemed paltry compared to 600 HP machines from Ferrari, those reservations will fade away quickly after being caught in this Audi’s glow, not to mention the amount of news that the all aluminum super car has stirred up in the automotive journals. Like despite earlier rumors there will be an R8 electric vehicle at Frankfurt. On the heels of the Lamborghini Gallardo Lp 550-2 Valentino Balboni, the German automaker was spotted working testing a rear wheel drive version and the very sheik R8 Convertible was spotted on the set of a major Hollywood motion picture.
The Garman automaker Audi is releasing a more powerful version of their pride and joy super car, the R8. This 500+ HP Quattro driven speed machine can go from 0 to 60 MPH in less than 3.9 seconds and is distinguishable from the standard version thanks to a new rear diffuser, twin oval tailpipes, and new LED headlights.
Based loosely on the Lamborghini, what better way is there to see how two of the most powerful cars of the moment stack up against each other and have been put into a head to head competition at the racetrack: the Audi R8 V10 and the Gallardo Spyder LP560-4. Both models are powered by the same 5.2 Liter V10 engine, and while the R8 is capable of reaching a top speed of 196.35 MPH, while the Gallardo can hit 201 MPH.
Audi has been known to go as far as to create very elaborate films out their products, this commercial for the Audi R8 super car is no different. The short video highlights some of the aesthetically pleasing and more memorable aspects of the pride and joy of the German automaker.
Audi has just shoehorned a V10 in the back of the R8 and Mercedes Benz is messing with the entire E Class range for 2010, however the crew from Car and Driver were curious to see how two very different, yet very similar high performance machines would stack up against one another at the drag strip for some straight line acceleration competition. On one hand is the lightweight 420 HP Audi R8 super car while on the other is one of the baddest grocery getters of all time, the Mercedes Benz E63 AMG Estate. Despite the fact that the Merc has an extra hundered horsepower under the hood, the R8’s Quattro all wheel drive system should be good for a better 60 foot time, but the real surbrise came at the end of the quarter mile. That is because despite having the exact same 0 to 60 MPH time, the AMG barely nosed out the R8 at the end of the 1320.
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