There was an article floating around the webs a couple of months back that suggested that the color blue is a relatively recent invention, and that modern humans actually didn't see or identify the color until someone gave it a name. If that's true, then it's possible that Audi->ke14 has added a new chapter to our perception of the color, with the new Santorini Blue offered on the 2016 Audi R8. If a time machine suddenly transported this vehicle back to a group of pre-blue humans, they'd have had to come up with a word on the spot for it, even if they couldn't tell what color it was.

(Okay, I know, they would probably be fleeing in terror because a V10-powered sports car->ke506 had just appeared in the middle of a field about 5,000 years before the invention of carbon fiber, but don't think too hard about that part.)

Santorini Blue Pearlescent is a new color coming to the Audi R8->ke1440 for 2016. It's a different hue from the color of the same name used by BMW,->ke178 but stunning in its own right and well-suited to the R8s' road-hugging body.

The brilliant blue is teamed with a Havana Brown leather interior sporting contrast stitching on the seats and a matching diamond pattern on the Alcantara headliner. The interior features a black leather dash top with Havana Brown stitching and a massive, 12-inch "Virtual Cockpit" digital instrument panel, as well as matching door panels. It's a definite visual upgrade from the standard R8.

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Why it matters

Is Audi aiming to compete more with Ferrari->ke252 and Lamborghini->ke44 than Porsche?->ke1 In addition to the more upscale look, the new R8 is powered by a 540-horsepower 5.2 liter V10 that's shared with the 2015 Lamborghini Huracan. It's lighter than the outgoing car, thanks to a new aluminum and carbon-fiber space frame, though styling remains recognizable. The contrasting side panels, one of the R8's more distinctive features, are smaller on the new car, and overall the design is more conservative (but still quite handsome). A seven-speed paddle-shifted transmission puts the power to the road and sadly no conventional manual is offered.

2016 Audi R8

Read our full review here.