During the late ’90s, the Volkswagen Group
began to increase its empire, becoming the owner of brands such as Bentley and
Bugatti. It also took control of Lamborghini, the Italian sports car
manufacturer which had been through a difficult time in terms of ownership.
Instead of being taken over by Volkswagen itself, Lamborghini became a
subsidiary of Audi, a move which was to result in much greater stability for
the Italian company, and the production of a very successful model, the
Gallardo.
The engineers at Audi clearly learned a
great deal from their colleagues in the Sant’ Agata Lamborghini plant, but there
was also a transfer of technology in the other direction. The Gallardo was
powered by a 5.2-litre V10 engine and the availability of this unit opened up
new possibilities for Audi.
Development began of a high-performance
mid-engined sports car whose platform would be based very much on that of the
Gallardo, but making use of the aluminium construction technologies which had been
perfected during production of the A8 and the A2.
The
R8 LMS with its huge rear spoiler, has become a very successful GT racer
In September 2003, Audi showed what it
called the Le Mans Concept at the Geneva and Frankfurt motor shows. This was,
in fact, virtually the prototype of what would eventually be called the R8 and,
in concept form, it was powered by a biturbo version of the Lamborghini V10
engine, developing 610 PS.
Following the public acclaim which greeted
the concept, intensive development of the R8 began in 2004 and, in 2006, the
production version of the R8 was revealed at the Paris show. Audi had invested
E28 million in a special production line, set up in the quattro GmbH hall at
Neckarsulm, with 250 employees.
The decision to call the new car the R8 has
always caused some confusion as this was also the name given to the first of
Audi’s very successful racing sports cars. The company clearly wanted to build
on the success in motorsport.
The first production R8s were powered by
the high-performance version of the 4.2-litre V8 engine which had initially
been developed for the B7 series RS 4. This high-revving engine developed 414
PS, giving the R8 very good acceleration.
The intention, however, had always been to
make use of the V10 engine as well and, in December 2008, Audi launched the R8
V10, the 5.2-litre engine developing 525 PS. Needless to say, the V10 was
quicker than the V8, and the specification was improved with the use of LED
headlamps and bigger brakes.
Top:
The R8’s all-aluminium body shell. Above left: 5.2-litre V10 Coupé. Above right:
V10 Spyder.
The Spyder version was launched in 2009 at
the Frankfurt show. In terms of its dynamics, it was very similar to the coupé
versions, although the body shell was reinforced to improve its rigidity.
Various special R8s followed and, at the
Detroit Show in 2008, Audi exhibited a version powered by its 6-litre V12 TDI
engine. Although there was considerable interest in this diesel-powered R8, it
never went into production. Another concept, with the same V12 TDI engine,
called the R8 TDI Le Mans, was exhibited at the 2008 Geneva show, but this too
failed to reach production.
More successful in terms of production was
the R8 LMS which was designed to be suitable for the FIA GT3 European
Championship. Powered by the V10 engine, this is the only R8 which has
rear-wheel drive instead of quattro, because four-wheel drive is not permitted
in this championship. The R8 LMS has become very successful in motorsport, with
several teams throughout the world using them in various racing series.
A very small number of R8 GTs were built
between 2010 and 2013. The power of the V10 engine was increased to 560 PS and
the kerb weight was reduced considerably.
Perhaps the most interesting R8 was the R8
e-tron, another version which never reached production. Each of the rear wheels
was driven by an electric. Because electric motors can develop their maximum
torque virtually from rest, the acceleration of this car was quite phenomenal.
It proved, however, too expensive to put into production and, when I drove one
at a special test track in Berlin, one of the engineers quietly whispered to
me, as I set off, ‘Don’t forget that the car you are driving cost $1,6782
million!’.
The
cockpit of the R8 and the controversial gear change gate.
Apart from its exciting styling and its performance,
the R8 has always been notable for the relatively smooth ride which it gives to
its occupants; the engineers at quattro GmbH have managed to achieve a very
good balance between handling and comfort.
The R8 does, though, have its drawbacks.
Luggage room is limited, more so than, for example, the Porsche 911, and
rearward visibility is fairly restricted, one reason why so many are sold with
a rear parking camera.
Until recently, the R8 was available with two
transmissions, an automatic which was virtually an electronically-controlled
manual gearbox, and a straightforward manual unit, with the gear lever
operating in a gate machined from solid aluminium. This was something of a
gesture towards some other supercars and, although the gate meant that movement
of the lever was well controlled, it also made it somewhat clunky. Recently, an
S tronic automatic gearbox has been introduced and this is a great improvement
on the earlier automatic.
The closest competitor for the R8 is
another brand from within the Volkswagen empire, Porsche. The design of the 911
has been consistently developed over a great many years, whereas the R8 is
relatively new. Despite this, they are close rivals and, because they are now
part of the same organisation, there is an inevitable transfer of engineering
technology between the two. Because of its relatively recent introduction, the
R8 is still a much rarer car than the 911 and, subsequently, attracts more
attention.
R8
V10 Plus
I would expect the R8 to remain in production,
in its present form, for a very long time. I am making the assumption that
those responsible for marketing at Audi will be aware of how much the success
of the Porsche 911 is dependent on its longevity, and I would trust that the
same will apply to the R8. There will no doubt be detailed improvements, but I
hope that the unique styling of the R8 will last for many years to come.
