A lighter, faster, more powerful GT has just been announced for those who find the standard car just that little bit tame.
Based on the, the GT features a new front splitter, air-smoothing ‘flicks’ on its front corners, matt carbon side blades, polycarbonate rear windows, a lightweight engine cover and a fixed rear wing. Black 19-inch wheels, bazooka-sized exhausts and tinted rear light clusters top off the external mods.
Lift the carbon fibre-reinforced rear deck and you’ll find a reworked version of the standard 5.2-litre V10 engine. Various software and mechanical enhancements have yielded an extra 42bhp and 7lb/ft of torque, bringing the total output to 552bhp and 398lb/ft.
The extra power, allied to the R8’s 100kg weight loss brings the 0-62mph time down to 3.6 seconds and ups the top speed to 199mph.
Lower suspension with revised geometry and optional ‘cup’ tyres should ensure that the R8 GT’s handling is a touch sharper too. The stability control system has a reprogrammed Sport setting, which Audi says “allows spectacular, but safe, oversteer when accelerating out of a corner.”
Quattro four-wheel drive remains, but with 85 per cent of the power heading to the rear wheels in normal driving, although up to 30 per cent can be channelled to the fronts if needed. A six-speed .
Only 333 examples will be built, with just 33 heading to the UK. So if you want one, we would suggest you head down to your local dealer as quickly as possible with the £142,585 required to park one in you garage.
That should give you just enough time to decide between Samao Orange, Sukuka Gray (pictured), Ice Silver or Phantom Black paint.
First gear is over in a blink of an eye. The engine – also found in the Lamborghini Gallardo – picks up like few other engines, and is the only I’ve driven that allows you to feel the torque curve, rather than imagine it on a piece of paper.
Hit the 8,700rpm redline, reach for second and do it all over again.
If it sounds as through I’m won over by the latest
incarnation of the R8, you’d be spot on. It takes the excellent V8-engine version and raises it to all-new heights.
Audi’s engineers haven’t simply dropped in the 5.2-litre V10 engine behind the seats, they’ve given it a thorough working over to make the big vee rev like a motorbike. That means this astonishing engine – also found in the and Audi S8 – revs to 8,700rpm.
But more importantly, fact fans; there’s a 517bhp dollop of power that peaks at 8,000rpm and a massive wedge of torque – 391lb/ft – that kicks in at 6,500rpm. And the R8 V10 has the best power to weight ratio of any Audi yet – an eye watering 319bhp per tonne.
This adds up to headline figures that would be no embarrassment to any member of the supercar set: 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, and a 197mph top speed – both markedly more impressive than the R8 V8.
There are plenty of superlatives to describe the R8 V10. Audi says it’s the fastest, most powerful and highest revving, as well having the best power-to-weight ratio and retaining the strongest used values in its class. Alongside the Porsche 911 Turbo no car accelerates faster.
But it’s the way the power is delivered that really impresses. It’s tractable from low speeds, easy to drive around town and b-roads can be devoured at an alarming rate using only third and fourth gears.
Like the standard car, the steering is a sensation with hydraulic assistance providing enormous levels of feedback. On the road the front end seems to have so much grip understeer is virtually non-existent, and because 65 per cent of its power is sent to the rear wheels you get a little tail-out action – but not too much.
If there’s one criticism about its road manners, it’s that the car feels wide and we’d expect it to take a little longer than the afternoon we spent in the R8 to become fully accustomed.
But in every other respect, it’s an incredible piece of engineering. The ride is firm but very comfortable; road noise is minimal and there’s only the howl from the engine when you want it. It does the whole GT thing better than some genuine GTs we’ve driven.
Even steep speed humps were tackled without a scrape or bang.
We tried both gearboxes which will be available from launch. The six-speed manual’s gearstick has a longer throw than expected and needs to be manhandled through the exposed gear gates. The six-speed R Tronic is an automated manual, meaning the driver needs to lift off to make a smooth change, else it’s quite jerky.
An Audi insider told us a version of the S Tronic (or DSG) gearbox is on its way as they’ve only just managed to make it handle the V10’s awesome power.
The standard brakes offer a good, progressive feel and vicious stopping ability, although a costly ceramic set is available for those interested in ultimates.
At around £20,000 more than the V8-engined R8, the V10 is a lot of money, especially when you try to find the visual differences. Ten points to those who spotted the new rear diffuser, fifteen to those who saw the high gloss grilles and twenty if you noticed the extended vents in the side ‘blades’.
But it’s not really as though the R8 doesn’t stand out in a crowd already.
More impressive than the exterior tweaks is the extra equipment offered. It’ll cost around £10,000 to add these new bits to the R8 V8, so that extra £20,000 starts looking a little more realistic.
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