The Audi R8 is apparently a tempting platform for tuners. We've seen sketches of the Abt Audi R8, we spotted the APR Audi R8 at the 2007 SEMA Show, and we recently took a look at the carbon fiberized PPI Audi R8.
MTM, those crazy Germans who built the twin-engine, 740-hp Audi TT Bimoto, brought their own version of the R8 to the Dubai Motor Show. Although visually subtle, a turbocharger system has been added to the 4.2-liter V8 for a total of 888 bhp and 610 lb-ft torque. 0-60 mph can be achieved in 3.0 seconds flat, and top speed is limited to 223 mph. MTM built the car, fittingly named the R888, as a one-off for a European customer, but they will gladly build more of them for a mere €280,000 each.
[Source: Autoblog.nl]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rollolo @ Nov 22nd 2007 12:47PM
280,000,that's a pretty nice price for such a masterpiece!
psarhjinian @ Nov 22nd 2007 12:51PM
Now, I'm an avowed greenie and generally I'll take a small, light, agile car over some overengined brute....
...but I'd give a kidney for this car. Heck, I'd do it for the regular R8.
LBuzzer @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:13PM
Sweet car, but enough with the flat black paint! For God's sake, come up with something new!
Bryan @ Nov 27th 2007 7:02PM
I love flat black! They just need black rims to match. Flat black and chrome does not look good.
Danny Boy @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:20PM
talk about a good deal...however, does it handle as well as it if, if not better. Stuffing more power doesn't mean that it's better.
zamafir @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:27PM
There's not a chance in hell it handles as well, I had the same initial impression as you. Sure, maybe another 100hp and another 100lb ft of torque would rock, but really, that's so insane. There's no way this thing retains the R8's utterly sublimely neutral track poise with all that power hitting that poor quattro system.
It's weird, you drive the R8 and its acceleration is much like the 335i, very linear and not at all the throw you against the seat sort of way. yet you look down and you're already doing 80 or 100 when you'd be expecting to approach sixty. it's so effortless. Thus I can understand someone's desire to really be able to drop the hammer in such a marvelous platform, and can appreciate it, but I'd rather take one stock.
Yar @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:20PM
Wonder how long those diff's last.
2004m3driver @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:22PM
Looks awesome except for the super polished rims. Should have just gone with Machined and called it a day or black rims just for stealth bomber look.
Ilya @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:23PM
Those crazy Germans! Too bad that the paint and the rims suck, otherwise it would be perfect...
vkchu @ Nov 23rd 2007 2:28PM
no joke. what is it w/ these tuning shops and their gaudy, tacky wheels?
*retch*
iQuack @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:25PM
Makes you wonder how much power is enough--especially when there are few, if any, places in the U.S. where it's safe to drive much over 85 MPH or accelerate much faster than 10 seconds to 60 considering all the traffic.
Such fast cars are only for dreamers.
zamafir @ Nov 22nd 2007 2:13PM
There are quite a few places all over southern california where such speeds are permissible, if not illegal. especially heading up the I-15 or down the I-15 which is brilliant for autobahn burning in the early mornings.
bazzz @ Nov 22nd 2007 2:54PM
Visit germany :) I have an autobahn roughly two miles away from where I'm living and you could easily do vmax with nearly any vehicle there on saturdays and sundays...
nagmashot @ Nov 22nd 2007 1:37PM
the MTM bimoto is 1020hp (2 x 510hp) not 740hp ..latest speed they reached with the bimoto over 390km/h (new speed record in Nardo for street legal) there only heavy side winds stoped them to go faster..
Flea @ Nov 22nd 2007 2:23PM
what the article fails to mention is that in the process they made the car 400 whopping kilograms heavier. which is like, half a Panda. Have fun chucking that arse around a track.
Grant @ Nov 22nd 2007 2:27PM
The flat black paint looks hot with the black vents all over the place. I didn't like the look of the car with the black vents at the white side stripe on a silver R8 when it first came out but got used to it. This fixes the problem.
Robert @ Nov 22nd 2007 2:44PM
Finally it goes as fast as looks
Vince Burlapp @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:03PM
Why???
Sean Morris @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:06PM
If you have to ask , you will never understand. Get back in your Prius and leave.
zamafir @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:58PM
... or he, like me, might actually 'get' the R8, or better yet, might have actually spent serious track time driving an R8, I asked the same question as a result of my experience driving the car. Just because someone understands the genesis and aims of a product and appreciates it's creator's vision doesn't make them an eco nut. Like many, I'm sure it's patently obvious to him, myself, an others who have commented here that the significant addition of weight and toll double the hp and tq will put on the car will compromise the it's character which has resulted in accolades such as:
"No other car takes a demanding road apart with the precision and composure of Audi’s incandescently rapid and hugely desirable R8"
then again, that guy, like me, has actually spent serious time in the car, and unlike me, has motor sports credentials to back him.
Go drive the R8 on the track, then come back here and chide those who appreciate it's utterly devastating composure and are curious why anyone might rob it of such composure in the name of just straight line acceleration, and a top speed unapproachable anywhere but the nardo, at the expense of overwhelming the car and weighing it down.