Audi R8 review

As the first Audi mid-engined sports car, the R8 combines Audi's experience gained from numerous motorsport triumphs with groundbreaking design and the acknowledged technological expertise of the brand. This expertise has led to the slogan 'Vorsprung durch Technik' becoming a byword for leading-edge technology both on the race track and on the road. The R8, which will go on sale in the U.S. in the fall of 2007, will initially be powered by Audi's 420-hp, direct-injection, 4.2-liter V-8 found in the RS 4 sedan. About a year later, the 5.2-liter V-10 from the S6 and S8 will be available, with output nearing 500 hp. Audi says the all-wheel-drive R8 weighs in at just 3400 pounds, will rocket to 60 mph in less than 4.6 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 187 mph. Given that we were able to run the 0-to-60-mph sprint in 4.6 seconds in the like-engined RS 4 that weighs 17 percent more, Audi's claim seems quite conservative. We think a time of 4.3 seconds is a better guess. Both a traditional six-speed manual and a computer-controlled sequential manual (it's not a new DSG, but rather a version of Lamborghini's E-gear that Audi calls R tronic) will be available.

Both the R8 and Le Mans names invoke Audi's recent success in endurance racing, but in actuality, the production R8 is much more closely related to the Lamborghini Gallardo with which it shares its structural underpinnings. The figures illustrate the outstanding potential of the eight-cylinder unit. At 7,800 rpm the 4.2-liter engine delivers 420 bhp of power output. Peak torque is 317 lb-ft from 4,500 to 6,000 rpm. And no less than 90 per cent of this maximum torque is maintained consistently throughout a wide engine speed range from 3,500 all the way to 7,600 rpm. As a result of these qualities, the eight-cylinder power unit provides maximum thrust in virtually any driving situation. The performance figures are equally impressive: the R8 accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 187 mph. Audi hasn't announced pricing for the R8 as yet, but it will undercut the Gallardo by a bunch. V-8 versions likely will cost about $100,000, which will pit the R8 squarely against the Porsche 911 Carrera. Ironically, Porsche owns a big chunk of Volkswagen, Audi's parent company. Audi plans to sell about 1000 R8s per year in the U.S.