Filed under: Spy Photos, Sports/GTs, Etc., Audi
Spy Shots: Audi RS8 burns on the Ring
Awww. This is just too sad for words. You'll have to click through to see the pics for yourself. A new Audi RS8 undergoing some high-performance testing at the 'Ring burned to the ground before firefighters could douse the flames. The driver apparently escaped unharmed, but this beautiful sports car was lost. We suppose this is one of the reasons that manufacturers do extensive testing before releasing products to the public,.We don't have a lot of details besides the photos by Hans Lehmann, but we know the images can be painful for fans of the R8 and this even more advanced version. The RS8 is the higher performance version of the already quick R8. Rumor has it we'll see a V10 in the engine bay when it finally gets all the bugs worked out and reaches showrooms. Some even say it will be packing as much as 600 hp, although with Lamborghini's Superleggera Gallardo only sporting 530, it would be an interesting corporate conflict if Audi is allowed to go large on the G.
[Source: Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kamil 1:48PM (4/09/2007)
nice roll cage.. but what the hell happened to the rest of the chassis? aluminum melted?
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Lithous 2:11PM (4/09/2007)
This just in... Rosie O'Donnell has declared this to be the first time that aluminum and only the second time that steel have been melted by fire in the history of the world.
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BLS 2:19PM (4/09/2007)
Their nameing conventions are annoying they have the A4, S4 , and RS4
A6, S6 , and RS6
but is it
A8, S8 , and RS8
or
R8, RS8
That is just annoying.
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JayP 2:22PM (4/09/2007)
That'll buff out.
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zach 2:28PM (4/09/2007)
BLS -
Seriously??? You really think their model line names are any better or worse than any other car company's?
They're all just stupid creations from the marketing people. Let it go man, just let it go...
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Mike 2:45PM (4/09/2007)
BLS:
WTF? Their naming convention is easier to understand than any other company. Are you slow?
A - Base Model
S - Sport Model
RS - High Performance Model
2 - 2 Door Hatchback
3 - 4 Door Hatchback
4 - 4 Door Small Sedan
5 - 2 Door Full Size Coupe
6 - 4 Door Medium Sedan
8 - 4 Door Full Size Sedan
Avant - Wagon/Estate Variant
Etc.
S8, RS6, A4 Avant...if it got any easier they would have to spell it out across the trunk lid...
P.S. I shed a tear when I read this post...
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TrueDis 3:00PM (4/09/2007)
Mike,
Thanks for the explanation, but the fact still stands that the R8 and RS8 (if it really does exist) don't fit with this naming convention.
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Mike 3:10PM (4/09/2007)
TrueDis: Pardon my haste is posting before I realized what was being said. That aside, it's still a great naming convention. Way better than trying figure out what the difference between a S600, M3, ML55AMG, 130il M-Sport, C230 and CL55 AMG based on name alone (always hated Benz and Beamer names).
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Evotec 3:31PM (4/09/2007)
#3:
do you think Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti spec C. type-RA-R
sounds better?
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James 3:50PM (4/09/2007)
BLS, Mike, TrueDis:
It sounds like there is a bit of confusion - R8 is the mid-engine supercar, and RS8 is the high-performance variant of the A8. From what I gather, your confusion lies in the fact that Audi is using "R" for the new coupe, while the A8/S8/RS8 kind of blurs the distinction between model names. As Mike pointed out, the A/S/RS are easily distinguised between one another, and I take the R8's model name to mean that it will not have the same A/S/RS variants, for obvious reasons. In Audi nomenclature, it was built to be the flagship supercar, so it is already the "R" model. However, this doesn't explain the upcoming R8 with the bigger, more powerful engine...
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jgp 4:01PM (4/09/2007)
While I dislike alphanumeric names in general, I have to give Audi kudos for having the most consistent and logical alphanumeric naming scheme I've seen, despite the "is the RS8 based on the S8 or R8?" issue.
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HotRodzNKustoms 4:06PM (4/09/2007)
Amazing, these German engineers remember to cage their prototypes, but neglect to protect their company's investment with a fire system!!!
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Chris 4:14PM (4/09/2007)
Wow all you have to know is that the RS8 is a R8 model. They will never make a RS8 of the A8, they are not Mercedes AMG, but like BMW M power cars where only a few from the lineup will be RS cars.
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Graham 4:20PM (4/09/2007)
the RS8 shown in these pictures cannot be a high-performance version of the A8, the burned prototype can be seen in the before pictures as having the same body as the R8 along with the very distinctive sideblades, the winding road article also mentions it is mid-engined so it has to be a high(er) performance version of the R8
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Graham 4:22PM (4/09/2007)
damn i was too slow
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Frank Filipponio 4:25PM (4/09/2007)
I don't know how the confusion started, but this post, the source article, and the photos all show it to be a higher-performance version of the R8.
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Tarakonaz 4:34PM (4/09/2007)
RS8... Nice... 600 HP... I already love this car... This burn is too much for my heart... I feel sad about it... :(
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MikeW 5:11PM (4/09/2007)
Fire is a plenty ambiguous term [its a plasma, but what temperature], and it would be better to always discuss temperature in Kelvin.
The purported widespread fires in WT7 were from? airplane? no, Paper, diesel tanks?
And the fall, that controlled demolition-the kink and the entire building in motion. That must have been a record for quickest setup, the firefighters were extracted hours before it came down, for setting up charges/wires or wireless receivers. So under five hours to go from setup to clearing/preparing the site the blast area, those guys were hauling ass.
No, that wasn't an inside job setup weeks before.
and the block of WTC2, magically dissociates (no that wasn't explosives, it was fire) in mid-air.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-736262871641918799&q=WTC2+collapse&hl=en
It is time for Rosie to lay the smack down of the new world order.
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Hernan 6:25PM (4/09/2007)
Mike
I thought the number represented the number of times the car broke down per year.
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dwightB 6:31PM (4/09/2007)
I wonder if the signature Audi "Check Engine" light was on, lol
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