New R8 RWD is most powerful ever
Audi’s bid to make a more purist sports car, the rear-wheel-drive R8, has been given a 30PS (22kW) fillip. The car’s magnificent centrepiece, its 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated V10, may still fall short of the power offered in the R8 quattro, but with 570PS (425kW) going to the rear wheels, the new Performance model promises to be more “purist” than ever.
To go with the power boost there’s a modest 10Nm (7lb ft) torque hike (now 550Nm, or 407lb ft). While Audi says the increases make the rear-drive R8 more fun than ever, they are not enough to change the car’s performance: 0-62mph still takes 3.7 seconds and top speed is still 204mph.
Those are the figures for the coupe; you can also get the R8 Performance RWD as a Spyder convertible, which is a tenth off the pace. The Spyder costs from £135,575 which is around £8,000 more than the coupe. For the power and performance on offer, the R8 remains a relative steal in this new base-level R8 spec.
What else has changed? That’s about it really. There’s still the seven-speed S Tronic transmission, mechanical limited-slip differential and electromechanical power steering. And there’s still a Sport mode set up to allow power oversteer. With the extra grunt, drifting should come even easier now, and for the first time on the RWD model, you can spec it with more direct dynamic steering.
A new Edition model tops the range, and to justify its £137,885 price (in coupe form) comes with 20-inch alloy wheels in bronze, Nappa leather, carbon sideblades, black Audi rings and mirrors, a Bang & Olufsen stereo, red brake callipers and upgraded carbon-ceramic brakes. For another £9k you can have the Carbon pack of gloss carbon-fibre elements front, back and inside the car.
The new R8s, as both coupe and Spyder, will be available to order from later this month.
Audi
R8
