The boss of Audi powertrain development has confirmed that Ingolstadt’s most powerful production engine is heading where it best belongs, the engine bay of the R8 supercar, next year.
A few months ago, while attending the launch of the 426 kW twin-turbo V10-powered Audi RS6 in France (read the full driving impression in the April ’08 issue of CAR Magazine – on sale now), Jens Koch, the project leader for the uber Avant, told CARtoday.com the Ingolstadt-based marque’s premier powerplant would be used exclusively in the RS6.
At the time, images of what appeared to be V10-powered R8 prototype that burst into flames at the Nürburgring back in April 2007 were still fresh in our minds, but many – ourselves included – refused to believe that Audi would produce a 5,0-litre twin-turbo FSI, producing peak torque of 650 N.m, and NOT transplant it into the R8…
Werner Froweim, the boss of Quattro GmbH, was quoted as saying that Audi could not provide enough cooling for the twin-turbocharged V10 in the R8 and suggested an updated 5,2-litre V10 (based on the existing 4,2-litre V8) could be a viable option for the flagship model. Well, a year’s a long time – Audi has since introduced a 6,0-litre V12 TDI concept of the R8, complete with twin-intercoolers and -turbochargers and 1 000 N.m on tap at 1 750 r/min.
And, the development of extra cooling for the V12 turbodiesel R8, which provides an extra 20 per cent of cold air to the radiators, has reportedly enabled to Audi to make an RS6-engined R8, ostensibly to be called the RS8 or R8-S, a production reality.
Recently, the head of Audi powertrain development Wolfgang Hatz told British publication : “The cooling is no problem now. The car is now signed off, and will appear during the second quarter of 2009.
“I can’t say much about it until then,” he added – but he did confirm the car’s engine origins.
“Why would we spend money developing a whole new engine for this car, when we already have such a good one,” Hatz said.
An R8, a recent winner of CAR magazine’s New Car Design of the Year award, with a petrol-powered twin-turbo V10 will undoubtedly be the fastest road-going model ever produced by Audi.
It will probably feature a six-speed manual- or optional R-tronic sequential gearbox, and could complete the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in less than 4,0 seconds, do 0-160 km/h in 8,5 secs and hit a top speed comfortably in excess of 320 km/h.
Suspension of the current R8 – double wishbones front and rear, 19-inch wheels, high-performance braking system, quattro four-wheel drive and electronically-activated rear spoiler will be standard equipment, but ceramic brake discs, xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights, and Bang & Olufsen sound system are optional.
Audi R8-related content:
Read CARtoday.com’s driving impression of the R8.
Download PC desktop wallpapers of the Audi R8.
Watch the R8 perform in the .
Listen to the exhaust tone of the 4,2-litre V8 Audi.
