Ingolstadt
- Audi has incorporated the name and the genes of the five-time
Le Mans winner, the Audi R8, into a spectacular sports car.
Three years after the unveiling of the Audi Le Mans quattro
concept car, the production version will be making its debut at
the Paris Motor Show in the guise of the new Audi R8 mid-engined
sports model. It is a fascinating driving machine and the sporty
pinnacle of the Audi brand. The mid-mounted 420 bhp V8 FSI
engine, quattro permanent four-wheel drive and Audi Space Frame
aluminium body form the basis for truly outstanding driving
dynamics. The Audi R8 will be available to order from 28
September 2006; first deliveries will be made in the first half
of 2007.
As
the first Audi mid-engined sports car, the R8 combines Audi's
experience gained from numerous motorsport triumphs with
groundbreaking design and the acknowledged technological
expertise of the brand. This expertise has led to the slogan 'Vorsprung
durch Technik' becoming a byword for leading-edge technology
both on the race track and on the road.
Audi
has recorded countless motorsport victories on race tracks all
over the world.
Following the rally successes of the Ingolstadt
brand in the 1980s, and its triumphs on the touring car circuit,
the world of long-distance motor racing was without a doubt the
biggest challenge yet faced by Audi's motorsport engineers.
And
they mastered this challenge in style too: the Audi R8 won the
prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours five times - from 2000 to 2002 and
in 2004 and 2005 - and on two occasions even took the first
three places.
Le
Mans is without doubt the toughest challenge to the Audi Sport
Team's engineers because it calls for a level of engineering
going far beyond the need merely to keep all the systems
focussed on a short, sharp sprint. Alongside the essential
virtues of top performance and optimised driving dynamics, the
key requirements in long-distance racing are endurance and
reliability, allied with optimum ergonomic design.
These
are genes which are eminently transferable to a road-going
sports car too, and which, allied to its exciting design, make
the Audi R8 truly unmistakeable.
The
equipment specifications, data and prices stated here refer to
the model range offered for sale in Germany. Subject to
amendment; errors and omissions excepted.
