Audi R8 - what's under the hood?
Prompted by a tip by Luca over at
eurocarblog, we did a little research
into the R8's powerplant.
According to Audi, the Le Mans quattro unveiled in 2003 at the Frankfurt auto show was driven by a 5-liter, twin-turbo
V10, with four valves per cylinder and continuously variable valve timing. Like the racing R8, the engine features a
direct fuel injection system (FSI). As built for the Le Mans quattro, the 610 bhp engine powered the concept car to 100
km/h in 3.7 seconds. Luca reports Auto Motor und Sport as citing
identical numbers for the R8, so it seems that the production engine will be essentially unchanged from the concept
car's.
The normally aspirated version of the V10 powers the Audi S8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo. The S8's FSI V10 (pictured
above) delivers 450 hp, while the 2006 Gallardo version cranks out 520 hp.
[Thanks, Luca!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JZed 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
Does it make sense for Audi to make a car more powerful than the Gallardo (and Murcielago)? I thought the idea was for a more user friendly supercar, not a more powerful one.
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Dr. Woo 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
The purpose of the V10-powered R8 is to give Audi a halo car, not to compete in the Gallardo's category.
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Justin 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
More power is great, but I remember an estimated price of around $100K when this thing first broke. It doesn't seem probable that the car will be priced that low while having more power than its Italian Brethren.
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Isabella 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
The figures Auto Motor und Sport writes are that of the study from 2003. Not for the productionversion.
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VW-Guy 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
Justin - who cares!?!?! I say this because someone who would buy this car has money. Lots of it. This will be a plaything to them, not daily transportation. Whether it be $100k or 150k (or more), it's all the same. Just relish in the fact that such a car is being built and sold for us we mortals to admire from the sidewalk.
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Adam Singer 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
This is supposed to be a 911 competitor. I can't see it having a turbo version of the V10.
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G 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
In an interview the engineers said it will have a hotter version of the RS4's engine, then a year or two later, MAYBE the Gallardo's v10.
Dr. Woo posted:
"The purpose of the V10-powered R8 is to give Audi a halo car, not to compete in the Gallardo's category."
If it's a v10 sportscar with similar performance to the Gallardo, it's competing with the Gallardo.
WV-Guy posted:
"Whether it be $100k or 150k (or more), it's all the same. Just relish in the fact that such a car is being built and sold for us we mortals to admire from the sidewalk."
It's dumbass attitudes like this that hold back the entire sportscar segment. Cars, even sportscars, are tools, meant to be driven, not drooled over.
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Fabulo 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
Squeezing max 610 bhp out of a smallish 5.0 l displacement is good performance. But how much torque does it have? I'd be even more happy with a chart. Hopefully it's not hockey stick-like.
G? did I read RS4 and that V10? did you mistype?
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Drew 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
Priced at about 140k-150k the R8 would "compete" with the Ford GT and upcoming 911 turbo. Priced at about 200K this car would compete more against the "image and prestige" of cars like the Ferrari F430/Gallardo/SL 65AMG/upcoming 997 GT2 etc. It will be interesting to see how this car is received.
RE>>>>Fabulo
But how much torque does it have? I'd be even more happy with a chart. Hopefully it's not hockey stick-like.
Read the torque specs on the 2.7L RS4 and the 4.2L RS6 and you will see that Audi twin turbo engines have no issues developing torque across the entire rev range.
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Dr. Woo 10:50PM (12/18/2005)
G: "If it's a v10 sportscar with similar performance to the Gallardo, it's competing with the Gallardo."
So...is the Z06 competing with the Gallardo? You fail to mention price, which is a key aspect of "competition" in the auto market.
I maintain that this is a car not meant to compete with Gallardo, and the impact it will have on its sales will be entirely negligible. Posting such simple comparisons as engine configuration and performance and claiming that it's competition does not make for effective persuasion.
G: "It's dumbass attitudes like this that hold back the entire sportscar segment. Cars, even sportscars, are tools, meant to be driven, not drooled over."
You must not be a car guy.
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