BERLIN: Audi’s all-new R8 supercar image leaked online before its official Geneva Motor Show debut in March, the new R8 is Audi’s latest run at taking down its Porsche and Lamborghini kin, along with the rest of the ‘super sport’ set.
Forget those, though. According to Audi, this new R8 sets “a new standard among high-performance sports cars”. But then they would say that.
More than a few of the new R8’s vital statistics have already been revealed, including the fact that it will draw power from the same 5.2 litre V10 that powers its cousin and platform-mate, the Lamborghini Huracan.
That’s a familiar relationship, of course, with the previous R8 and the now retired Lamborghini Gallardo sharing their platforms and, in the case of the R8 V10, the same powerful heart.
The V10-powered R8 will again be offered in two forms: R8 V10 and R8 V10 Plus.
Power in the regular V10 model is listed at 397kW and 540Nm, while the V10 Plus dials outputs up to a much meaner 449kW and 560Nm.
The all-important 0-100km/h time is listed at 3.5 seconds for the R8 V10, while the V10 Plus shaves a few hundredths off that for a 3.2 second sprint.
Fuel consumption for the V10 pair is listed at a relatively low 11.2 and 12.4 l/100km respectivelty, helped by Audi’s cylinder-on-demand technology that cuts two cylinders out of the proceedings during light throttle load.
The new R8 also gets Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system as standard, allowing the full 100 percent of power to be visited upon either axle as needed.
A manual transmission is also no longer an option, with the new R8 equipped exclusively with a seven-speed S-tronic sports auto.
A V8 option will again feature with the new R8 range in the future, and a new plug-in hybrid electric ‘e-tron’ model is also coming.
The e-tron will draw power from a pair of electric motors, each delivering 171kW and 460Nm, with energy drawn from a big 92kWh battery pack.
With a 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds, the e-tron won’t be the quickest offering in the line-up, although it might match the as-yet undefined performance figures of the coming V8 model.
On the styling front, the new R8 shares a number of key features with the also-new TT coupe, wearing the same big angular grille, new sharp headlights and long rectangular tail lamps.
“The high-performance sports car has been newly developed from the ground up – it is more taut, more striking and more fascinating both on the race track and on the road,” Audi says.
