Audi R8 GT (2011)

Now even more powerful, lighter and faster: Audi presents the Audi R8 GT - a limited-production version of the Audi R8 high-performance sports car. The output of its 5.2-liter V10 has been increased to 412 kW (560 hp); vehicle weight has been reduced by roughly 100 kilograms (220.46 lb). The Audi R8 GT accelerates from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 3.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 320 km/h (198.84 mph).
The R8 high-performance sports car has been a winner from the very beginning. This applies to both the production models, winners of the "World Performance Car" Award in 2008 (R8) and in 2010 (R8 V10), and to the race car, the R8 LMS, which won 23 races in its first season and claimed three championships. The genes of the race version are now coming to the street - in the Audi R8 GT. The exclusive series is limited to 333 units. Each Audi R8 GT has a badge with its production number on the shift lever knob.

Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro is the next variant of its top-of-the-line model. With the Audi R8, the brand has established itself at the forefront of high-end sports cars from the very start - and now comes the Audi R8 V10. Its 5.2-liter, ten-cylinder engine churns out 386 kW (525 hp) and 530 Nm (390.91 lb-ft) of torque, which makes for breathtaking performance. With superior Audi technologies such as quattro all-wheel drive, the lightweight aluminum body, the innovative all-LED headlights, and its striking design, the Audi R8 V10 takes pole position against the competition.

 The Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro rockets from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 3.9 seconds. In the version with the sequentially shifting R tronic it reaches 200 km/h (124.27 mph) in another 8.1 seconds. Even then its propulsive power hardly lessens: it's sufficient to reach a top speed of 316 km/h (196.35 mph). The immense force, the spontaneity and the thrust of the acceleration, plus the sound of the engine - all these impressions coalesce into a breathtaking sports car experience. The V10 plays a concert with growling bass tones and powerful high notes, which grows into a grandiose fortissimo as the engine revs up. This sonorous acceleration doesn't reach its limit until 8,700 rpm.

Audi R8 GT3 (2009)

For the first time, Audi Sport will offer a racing sports car specifically developed for customer use in the form of the powerful 500 hp plus GT3 version of the Audi R8 which will be available from autumn 2009. The logistics and factory space required for the AUDI AG customer programme will be created over the next few months in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm and Györ.
"The Audi R8 is the first production Audi bearing the name and genes of a successful racing sportscar and is therefore an excellent base from which to build up our first big customer sport programme," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. "Ever since the Audi R8 was unveiled we've been inundated with enquiries about a race version. With the Audi R8 we will offer customers a racing sportscar equipped with high-calibre technology and the typical Audi qualities, but which is nevertheless easy to handle."
The Audi R8 conforms to the production-based GT3 regulations allowing the car to be fielded in numerous national and international race series.

Audi R8 V12 TDI Concept (2008)

Audi R8 V12 TDI Concept

Audi is presenting a revolution in the top class at the Detroit Auto Show 2008 - the first 12-cylinder diesel engine in a high-performance roadgoing sports car. The V12 TDI with a displacement of six liters powers a concept car based on the Audi R8. This unit generates a huge 500 hp and 1,000 Newtonmeters (737.56 lb-ft) of torque. Audi is writing a new chapter in diesel technology with this power unit. Equipped with the expertise that Audi has built up through its motor sport activities, the R8 V12 TDI in matt "Grace Silver" embodies superb road handling, pioneering technology and fascinating design.

Ultramodern Injection Technology
As is the case in the Audi V engines, the no-maintenance chain drive is mounted at the back of the engine, where it occupies little space. Its layout has changed on the new V12 TDI. The camshafts' sprocket engages in an intermediate gear via which two Simplex chains drive the camshafts. Two more chains drive the oil pump and the two high-pressure pumps actuate the common rail injection system.
The two new dual-piston high-pressure pumps form part of the common rail injection system supplied by specialty manufacturer Bosch. The two pumps build up a pressure of up to 2,000 bar in the rails. The piezo injectors with eight-hole nozzles have also been fundamentally revised.
The high pressure distributes the mixture optimally throughout the combustion chamber. The result is that the ignition process is faster, more homogeneous and more acoustically refined. The more efficient combustion process also increases power output, cuts consumption and reduces pollutant emissions.
The current generation of so-called inline injectors makes effective use of the piezo effect: piezo crystals expand in a fraction of a millisecond when an electrical voltage is applied. The number of injection processes per operating cycle can be varied across a wide range thanks to piezo technology - reaching as many as five fuel injection operations in the case of the V12 TDI.

Audi R8 (2007)

Audi is entering the most discerning segment of the car market with its R8 mid-engine sports car - and immediately taking up a position among the leaders: equipped with the expertise that Audi has gathered from its involvement in motor sport and from building sporty premium-class cars, the R8 is the embodiment of superlative road behaviour, pioneering technology and fascinating design. The 420 bhp V8 FSI engine, quattro permanent four-wheel drive and the aluminium space-frame body endow the R8 with outstanding qualities to challenge for leadership of this segment, as do its excellent everyday suitability and Audi's typical standards of perfection in quality and finish.

The genes of the winner
The repeat winner was thus the ideal role model for the new production sports car. The genes of the triumphant racing car were also passed on to the passenger car - which admittedly feels distinctly at home on the racetrack, too - in the model designation R8. The mid-engine concept is as integral to this genetic stock as the high-revving V8 engine with FSI petrol direct injection and the sequential gearbox with steering-wheel control. Whereas the use of quattro permanent four-wheel drive was prohibited on the racing version, the new R8 can of course now be equipped with it, for superior road behaviour and safety in all conditions.

First Audi R8R as a Race Car in 1999