Audi announced in 2005 that the name of the successful Audi R8 race car would be used for a new road car in 2007, the Audi R8, based on the Audi Le Mans quattro concept car, appearing at the 2003 Geneva Auto Show and 2003 International Motor Show. The R8 was officially launched at the Paris Auto Show on 30 September 2006. There is some confusion with the name, which the car shares with the Le Mans winning R8 LMP and also the 1989 Mk2 Rover 200, codenamed R8.
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Audi announced in 2005 that the name of the successful Audi R8 race car would be used for a new road car in 2007, the Audi R8, based on the Audi Le Mans quattro concept car, appearing at the 2003 Geneva Auto Show and 2003 International Motor Show. The R8 was officially launched at the Paris Auto Show on 30 September 2006. There is some confusion with the name, which the car shares with the Le Mans winning R8 LMP and also the 1989 Mk2 Rover 200, codenamed R8.
The R8 is used as a safety car in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters racing series.
Technical details
The Audi R8 is equipped with a 4.2 litre Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) V8 engine developing and , and is basically the same engine used in the B7 Audi RS4, but modified to use dry sump lubrication. A new additional variant with a 5.2 litre Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) V10 engine was added on the 9th of December 2008, which produces and .
The transmission is either a manual gearbox with metal gate for the shift lever, or an "R-tronic" gearbox (single-clutch semi-automatic sequential manual transmission). These options are the same as those available on the Lamborghini Gallardo. A double-clutch gearbox (Direct-Shift Gearbox - DSG, now badged by Audi as "S-tronic") is not available (as of December 2008).
The R8 has a dry weight of . Its suspension uses magneto rheological dampers.
Safety features include Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme with ABS, front dual-stage airbags, and side-impact airbags.
Amongst the options list for the Audi R8 are a Bang & Olufsen sound system, and "Audi Ceramic" Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) composite brakes with monobloc alloy Brembo calipers on all four wheels (6-piston at front, 4-piston at rear) with SGL Carbon ceramic discs.
Retracting spoiler of Audi R8
Production
In Latin America, the R8 became available at the end of 2008 at dealers in Mexico City, Bogota, Medellin, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Santiago. Customers bought every unit available for 2008 within a week after the R8 premiered at the Bogota International Auto Show and Auto Expo of Medellin.
In Asia, the R8 is available in India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines and Hong Kong, and has been available in China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Indonesia since 2008.
Reviews
Many publications were hailing it as the first car to truly be able to beat the Porsche 997 — considered by manyWho: date=January 2009 to be one of the best sports cars ever made, and a leader in its class. Initial comparison tests have proven quite positive in this respect; Evo Magazine listed it as a "supercar", compared the R8 to the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and BMW M6 and after praising the R8's "amazing stability, traction and grip, unparalleled steering accuracy and bite, (and) its uncannily flat and disturbance-free ride", claimed that as a result of "the sublime effortlessness of it all", the Audi is a better sports car. The article concluded that "Audi humbles Porsche. A new dawn starts today".
