First things first – this is a reasonably priced super sports car and by reasonably priced we mean the price starts at N$2,63 million and would top at slightly above N$3 million with a hundred grand more or less. But for Audi aficionados the R8 is a dream car. And the new model is packed with improvements. For a start Audi claims that the new top of the range R8 Plus is “the most powerful and fastest production Audi ever built.”
The Audi R8 is available as the most powerful V10 Plus Quattro S-tronic with a massive torque of 560 Nm and a power output of 449 kW that can propel its passengers forward at a nauseating speed that gets from zero to 200 km/h in just 9.9 seconds. Top speed is 330 km/h.
It is also available as a V10 quattro S-tronic that can jump from nothing to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, three seconds longer than its big brother, and has top speed of 320km/h. It has a torque of 540 Nm and power output of 379 kW.
“The new Audi R8 V10 plus is the most powerful and fastest production Audi ever. Motorsport has always been a solid component of our brand character. With the new R8, our engineers are transferring their entire accumulated racing expertise from the race track to the road,” says Dr. Stefan Knirsch, Board Member for Technical Development.
Compared to the previous model, power in the new R8 has increased considerably, and the responsiveness of the high-revving of up to 8,700 rpm, naturally aspirated 5.2-litre engine is now even more spontaneous. Like a race car engine, the V10 engine has dry sump lubrication. Its characteristic sound is now even fuller, with an optional sports exhaust system also available for order.
And to ease the guilt of all those who think super sports cars are the mothers of carbon emissions, the new V10 engine was given effective efficiency technologies such as the COD (cylinder on demand) system, which shuts off one row of cylinders under low load conditions. Another is dual injection, which injects the fuel into the combustion chambers and induction manifold according to demand. When the driver takes their foot off the accelerator pedal at speeds over 55 km/h, the new R8 goes into a coasting mode.
When the car comes to a stop, a start-stop system deactivates the V10 engine.
Positioned behind the V10 is a seven-speed S tronic that executes lightning-fast gear shifts by electrical control (shift-by-wire). The dual-clutch transmission directs forces to a newly designed quattro drive system with an electrohydraulically activated multi-plate clutch at the front axle. It has active water cooling for maximum performance. The clutch distributes drive torque fully variably according to the driving situation – up to 100 percent can be directed to either the front or rear wheels.
Management of the clutch is integrated in the Audi drive select dynamic driving system, and it gives the driver a choice between the basic modes comfort, auto, dynamic and individual. On the R8 V10 plus (and as an option for the V10), the performance mode comes with three additional modes: dry, wet and snow. They adapt key handling parameters to the friction coefficient of the road surface. A mechanical rear differential lock is standard; its locking values were newly tuned to work together with the actively controlled quattro drive.
The new Audi R8 has standard 19-inch wheels, and 20-inch wheels with size 245/30 tires in front and 305/30 at the rear are available as an option. The powerful brakes decelerate the car effectively; in the top model, the disks are made of carbon-fiber ceramic (optional on the R8 V10). Behind the seats is a cargo space with 226 litres of capacity. It supplements the 112 litre luggage compartment at the front of the car.