In a team that wins, you don't move (much). This seems to have been the reasoning made by the German brand in the renovation of the Audi R8 . Upgrading the supercar on the outside wasn't thorough, keeping the family feel and, above all, the engine.
Rumors indicated that the RS5's twin-turbo V6 would also find a place in the Audi R8, but the ring brand did not give in to the temptation of downsizing and chose to keep the atmospheric V10 in two versions, as until now.
In this renovation, the R8 appears with a more aggressive look, gaining a larger front grille and a new grille at the rear, accompanied by a huge diffuser. Audi argues that the R8 shares about 50% of the parts with the R8 LMS GT3 and is, according to the brand, the closest production car to a competition model.
In terms of mechanics, Audi managed to extract more power from the naturally aspirated V10. Thus, in the base version, the 5.2 l V10 started to deliver 570 hp (compared to the previous 540 hp) and a torque of 550 Nm. These values allow the R8 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4s ( 3.5s for the Spyder) and reach a maximum speed of 324 km/h (322 km/h for the Spyder).
Goodbye, R8 Plus! Hello R8 Performance quattro
The more powerful version also received a few dustings and now has 620 hp (instead of the previous 610 hp), while the torque was at 580 Nm (more 20 Nm than the previous version), which allows it to comply with 0 to 100 km/h in 3.1s (Spyder takes 3.2s) and reach 331 km/h (Spyder reaches 329 km/h).
Along the way, Audi got fed up with the R8 Plus designation and decided that the top version of its supercar should be renamed R8 performance quattro.
In addition to the increase in power, Audi also changed the suspension, everything, according to the brand, to increase stability and precision. The German brand also took advantage of the renovation to review driving modes, with the four-ring brand stating that it made the difference between the four modes (Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual) more noticeable. In addition to this improvement, the more powerful version also gained three new additional programs for dry, wet and snow conditions.
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When arrives
The renewed R8 will hit the market equipped as standard with 19-inch wheels, with 20-inch wheels available (as an option, of course) that come equipped with sportier tyres. The renewed Audi R8 is expected to arrive at the stands in the first quarter of 2019 , not knowing yet the prices of the renovated German super sports car.
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