Audi R8 RWD? It's Possible

Is this mystery winged Audi R8 an RWD test mule?

"Remember that mystery winged R8 running around Nurburgring run last week by Spyshots.
nl? There's a theory by a usually knowledgeable user at RS6.com that suggests the car is a prototype of a potentially RWD R8 much like the latest Lamborghini Gallardo
LP550-2."

Audi R8 chosen Canadian

The all-new 2008 Audi R8 captured the triple crown of Canadian automotive awards by being named as AJAC's "Canadian Car of the Year", being designated as AJAC's "Best New Design" of the year and winning AJAC's "Most Coveted Vehicle" award.

Audi Canada captured the triple crown of Canadian automotive awards Wednesday with the all new R8 mid-engined sports car.

At the opening press conference of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, the R8 was presented the 2008 "Canadian Car of the Year" award by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). The Audi R8 was evaluated against a long list of discerning criteria amidst a group of strong eligible competitors. The Audi R8 beat 11 other "best new" category winners, announced December 4th, to secure the prestigious Canadian Car of the Year honours.

The new Audi R8 was also declared the winner of AJAC’s "Best New Design" award for 2008. In addition, Canada’s leading automotive writers and editors also selected the Audi R8 for the rarely presented AJAC "Most Coveted Vehicle" award.

The AJAC Canadian Car of the Year competition gathers more than 60 prominent Canadian automotive journalists in Niagara-on-the-Lake for several days in October for the annual "TestFest" event. This program has received praise from consumers because the evaluation and voting processes are carried out in a professional, fair and, serious manner.

The participating journalists have the opportunity to test drive all the entries back to back in identical conditions. An extensive list of important criteria is assessed by the journalists and all active participants vote for their individual choice as car of the year.

2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10

time and again, and so repeated full-on stops did not blunt the edge. This example, however, only begins to scratch the surface of the R8 V10’s true potential.

What makes this version so special is its engine. To begin with, the R8’s monster naturally aspirated engine attains the Holy Grail of producing more than 100 horsepower per litre of displacement — 100.9 in this case. Using variable valve timing on each of its four camshafts and direct fuel injection, the 5.2-litre V10 dishes out 525 stallions and 390 pound-feet of torque, 80% of which is ready to run at 1,000 rpm. It also loves to rev, and it does so freely all the way to its 8,700-rpm redline. When doing its thing, the sound it generates is commensurate with its wherewithal — when out for a leisurely loaf only the two outer tailpipes bark, which keeps things to a civil decibel level. Hit the gas and the two inner pipes open. With all four pipes playing along, the roar builds to a delightful crescendo. It is a sweet siren to be sure.

From the six-speed manual transmission, the power reaches the road through massive P235/35R19 front and P295/30R19 rear tires and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. In this case, the setup sends 85% of the engine’s power to the rear wheels, which imparts the desired rear-drive feel. If slippage does occur, up to 30% of the drive can be sent forward, which keeps the electronic nanny’s intervention to a minimum. On that note, don’t turn the overseer off. Those foolhardy enough to do so will find out first-hand what separates Michael Schumacher from most mortal drivers — in spite of the quattro system, the R8 still manages to light up all four tires on a fast pull-away.

So, how fast is it? Blindingly quick, but in more ways than those usually used to quantify power and performance. To begin with, using an aluminum spaceframe keeps the mass of the body-in-white to 210 kilograms and the V10 engine only weighs 258 kg. As a result, the entire car tips the scales at just 1,620 kg. All of this means that each of the engine’s 525 pumped stallions has to motivate only 3.09 kg of leather-lined automobile. Now these numbers give rise to some equally impressive performance figures — the R8 V10 romps to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and it flashes though 200 km/h in 12 seconds. Keep the hammer down and, well, pray you get to keep both Ls.

Audi R8 by Cargraphic

We’ve seen a couple of Cargraphic designs recently, most notably, their Corvette ZO6 and their Porsche Cayenne. Today we received pictures of a R8 they prepared with a new airlift suspension system and subtle bodykit. No power increases to report but hopefully the mix of practical additions should create a more balanced driving experience.

The white-on-white donor car hides the new airlift suspension unit that can elevate the front end by 72mm in just 15 seconds. The practical application here is that your front spoiler raises high enough to stop any damage to either the front spoiler or the suspension parts. At speeds above 50km/h, the car will automatically lower using its system of air bellows and a separate compressor.

The whole unit is TÜV certified and doesn’t restrict the owner to a specific choice of tyres.

Elsewhere, there’s a choice of 19 inch or 20 inch lightweight alloy wheels. A Cargraphic stainless steel exhaust setup is also fitted to this car. Cargraphic offers a number of body options including the spoiler seen in a couple of the pictures.