Speedriven is based out of Palatine, Illinois and has been making quite a splash lately with its insane upgrades to some of the finest cars out there. In the past, we’ve brought you reviews of a 2011 Mercedes E-Class V12 the 2011 Mercedes S600, and my personal favorite – the 1,000 horsepower V-12 CL600 that we reviewed back in November of 2015. Mercedes->ke187 isn’t the only brand Speedriven specializes in, though. They also have programs for various Lamborghini->ke44 models and several Audi->ke14 models as well.

The vehicle in question here is a 2012 Audi R8 V10 that, after being caressed by the techs over at Speedriven, has broken records at the race track – twice in one day – as a matter of fact. The most insane fact about this R8->ke1440 isn’t necessarily that it broke records on the dragstrip, but the fact that Speedriven was able to more than double the horsepower of the R8 without breaking into the engine. Now that is certainly something to write home about.

So how did the guys over at Speedriven manage to muster so much power out of the R8’s 5.2-liter engine? Well, it surely wasn’t easy, but keep reading to find out.

Making a Monster

Marko D. – the owner of the Audi R8 you see here – chose Speedriven to upgrade his R8 because Speedriven has a unique approach to throwing a pair of twin turbos on a big V-10 engine. Normally, throwing twin turbos on a V-10 results in rather poor 0-to-60 times, but Marko wanted a car that could go fast from the start, not from 60 mph on up.

“I couldn’t live with myself if some kid with three different kits on his LS motor pulled up to me at a light and I had to ask him to roll alongside me in my $200,000 ‘exotic’ until we got to the next pole and then hit it,” he continued, “I’d rather set the car on fire. Then hang myself. Then set myself on fire, too. I’m just not doing it.”

So, Speedriven gave him the perfect solution: The Speedriven PKG 1 R8 5.2 V10 Performance Package. The package is a range of external engine upgrades that include a set of ball-bearing turbochargers, billet aluminum blow-off valves, wastegates, full custom exhaust, two high flow intakes, an auxiliary coolant tank, a water-to-air intercooler, A/C driven cold air intake system, and upgraded billet aluminum engine mounts. It’s not a bad setup, to say the least, but was it really worth it?

Dyno Testing

It’s one thing to throw a bunch of bolt-on upgrades to an engine, and it’s something else to fine tune everything and give the car a run on the dyno. To start off, Speedriven filled the R8 up with conventional, 91 octane unleaded – the same stuff you and I pump into our cars on a regular basis (assuming your ride doesn't run on regular) The result was amazing: 820 horsepower and nearly 650 pound-feet of torque.

It got even better, however, once Speedriven did some more fine tuning and gave the R8 a tasty drink of some high-octane racing fuel. The result is even more impressive and even a little shocking, as Speedriven managed to pull 1,100 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque out of this little supercar. As a reminder, the 2012 R8 only came with 525 ponies and 391 pound-feet from the factory, so without any internal engine modifications, this result is nothing short of amazing.

Dragstrip Testing

Okay, so we’ve covered how Speedriven made so much power, and the astounding numbers the R8 managed to hit on the dyno, but what about how it performs on the track? Is it enough to satisfy Marko and his desire for a strong start off the line? Well, Speedriven wanted to make sure it would, so the techs packed everything up – including Marko’s R8 – and took a road trip south, where the snow and cold weather isn’t a factor. Here is a quick video of the R8’s first record-breaking run at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida:

I’ve got to give it to these guys, though, because they didn’t stop at that first record-breaking run. A 10-second quarter mile just wasn’t quite good enough. Just a little more fine tuning and it was time for another run. This time, everything was just right with the R8 hitting the quarter mile sprint in just 9.722 seconds with a top speed of 143.28 mph – now that’s fast for an Audi R8 V10:

Conclusion

I have to tip my hat to guys over at Speedriven and what they can accomplish without actually tearing apart the engine. The fact that it can manage to push an R8 to more than double its intended power without anything other than bolt on applications and tuning is absolutely astonishing. What really surprises me is that Speedriven could have gotten a lot more out of this R8, had the owner decided to go all out on the project. A quick look at Speedriven’s R8 upgrade page shows that the tuner offers a plethora of updates to suit whatever flavor you’re looking for. Everything from a fully built engine that pumps out 1,500 horsepower, to a fully built sequential transmission with all the bells and whistles. If you’re not looking to spend a whole lot of money, for $5,000 you can get an ECU software upgrade that offers 590 horsepower, 435 pound-feet of torque, and removal of the speed limiter.

In case you’re wondering, the PKG 1 Performance package installed on Marko’s R8 is listed with a price of $37,500. That computes to a cost of about $127 per horsepower on regular pump gas, or just $65 per pony if you decide to keep a full tune and run high-octane fuel. If you’re interested in modifying your Audi R8, contact the guys over at Speedriven to see what they can do to meet your desires. I know I sure will if I ever get my hands on one. One thing is for sure; this R8 is officially one crazy sleeper. I don’t think that Marko is going to have any more worries about some kid with a three-kit LS engine anytime in the near future.