Remember back in 2018 when Audi released the Audi R8 V10 RWS in a limited production run of just 999 examples? It didn’t last long here in the States, but Audi kept it as a main part of its lineup over in Europe. Now, three years later, a new listing on the EPA’s fueleconomy.gov website hints that it’s making a comeback to the U.S. Market in both coupe and convertible form.

Three Years In and the Audi R8 RWD Comes Back to U.S. Soil

Unless you were one of the lucky 999 customers that got their hands on the Audi R8 V10 RWS in 2018, you’ve been out of luck if you wanted a RWD R8. Since then, there has been no clear indication that a RWD R8 would ever come back to the U.S. Market – until now, that is. According to fuel economy ratings on fueleconomy.gov, the RWD R8 will be offered in both coupe and spyder form for the 2021 model year, both of which will deliver 14 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway and 17 mpg combined. That’s a small improvement over the AWD model you can buy today:

According to the listing, the 2021 R8 will derive its power from the familiar 5.2-liter V-10 that’s paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission.

If the thought of less power bums you out, let me remind you that while the RWD model has less power, it’s also lighter too. The RWD coupe comes in at 143 pounds lighter while the Spyder weighs some 121 pounds less than it’s AWD counterpart. Thanks to this reduction in weight the RWD R8 coupe will snap you to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds while the Spyder gets there in 3.8 seconds. Top speed sits at 199 mph and 198 mph, respectively. In comparison, the AWD coupe makes it to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds while the Spyder will do the same sprint in 3.5 seconds. So, there’s a small sacrifice in performance, but the thrill of a rear-wheel-drive R8 is well worth it.

At this point, the only real question is whether or not the RWD Audi R8 is actually making a comeback here in the States or if this is just some kind of weird oversight. And, if it does land in the U.S. for the 2021 model year, will it also be a limited-production model like it was in 2018? If it does show up for 2021, you can expect to pay around $144,900 for the rear-drive coupe and around $157,000 for the rear-drive spyder.