Audi R8 race car to tackle Nürburgring 24 hrs
Click above for photo gallery
This year's Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race will feature perhaps the most wicked Audi R8 yet: a lightweight, custom-built racer that makes the road car look tame by comparison. To comply with the requirements for participation in the race, the stock 4.2L V8 donates its block and is rebuilt from there. The race-spec motor's displacement drops to 4.0 liters but it delivers a hefty 530 horsepower and 353 lb-ft of torque. The R8's stock front and rear bodywork is replaced by new, widebody carbon kevlar panels. Those outboard intakes in the nose are replaced by blanks, and out back, the custom exhaust's dual outlets poke through the spot where the license plate would reside on the production car. Other obvious additions are the front splitter, large rear wing, rear diffuser, and multiple cutouts in the aft bodywork to help with engine cooling. The entire package weighs in at just 2,755 pounds -- this thing should absolutely haul. German magazine Sport-Auto has been covering the car's development. We'll see how the car fares in competition next week.
Gallery: Audi R8 Nurburgring 24 Racer
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[Sources: Sport-Auto, German Car Scene]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Josiah 9:13AM (5/17/2008)
Excellent, I'll take two.
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tekman94 9:23AM (5/17/2008)
That is just an awesome car through and through
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Jed Trenton 9:37AM (5/17/2008)
Wow - that's sweeeeeeeet.
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lloydh 9:36AM (5/17/2008)
The effect of the wide body kit on the rear 'shoulders' combined with the racing wheels and tires is simply awesome!
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Austin 9:40AM (5/17/2008)
Now that's a wing!
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MemphisNET 9:55AM (5/17/2008)
Awesome, can't wait to drive it in Forza 3 or GT5
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Dustin 10:37AM (5/17/2008)
Why not use the stock 4.2 litres?
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nagmashot 11:17AM (5/17/2008)
The 24h race is sperated in displacment classes..
highest class
SP8 4.0-6.5l minimum weight 1300kg
Viper, Gallardo, Corvette, LF-A, Aston Martin Vantage
makes no sence to race a 4.2l car in a car class with up to 6.5l displacment..
so they reduced the engine to 4.0l to race the
SP 3.5-4.0l minimum weight 1250kg
race class...
This way they safe 50kg weight
nagmashot 11:20AM (5/17/2008)
BTW the engine is mostly stock
stock engine block
stock valves
etc.
they only changed
different cranckshaft
different camshafts
FSI is deleted
the oil system was improved to reduce the oil from 8 to 7liter
the rest was classic n/a engine tuning.
mrfiat 10:55AM (5/17/2008)
looks cool. The body is almost the same as one of the wide kits in NFS Pro Street.
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broosewee 11:05AM (5/17/2008)
OMG... sick!
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Mobius_1 11:25AM (5/17/2008)
This car just needs its looks to overtake as the drivers in front move out of the way in awe of the car (especially if they've seen Iron Man). My God, what a stunning cool car!
With the possible exception of the Astons, of course
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Harrison 12:36PM (5/17/2008)
This better be in Gran Turismo 5.
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iBSOD for iPhone 1:08PM (5/17/2008)
the ad decals just made it look ugly :( but I guess that's what they do in motor racing...
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Daniel 1:15PM (5/17/2008)
Is the Nurburg 24 hrs on US tv?
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speedball3 1:20PM (5/17/2008)
I'm not entirely sure those "exhaust pipes where the license plate would go" are really exhaust pipes... they look closed. Plus, I remember seeing something similar to that on another car and ppl were saying it was to allow for quick refueling.... anyone have more insight on this?
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Tom Winch 3:38PM (5/18/2008)
Those aren't the actual exhaust pipes, they're the holes where the pipes exit the bodywork. If you check out
http://www.sportauto-online.de/multimedia/fotostrecken/sport_auto_special/
You can see pics of the car in development. It looks like the engine, or at least the exhaust has been removed from the blue R8.
zach 2:17PM (5/17/2008)
I'd love to see them make a variant for GT2 in the ALMS
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blumx357 3:11PM (5/17/2008)
Does it still have awd?
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JD 3:11PM (5/17/2008)
Man, did anyone else wonder why they were racing the old R8 instead of the R10 at first? I've always thought that R8 was sort of a strange name for the road car since it would get mixed up with the legendary Prototype.
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