Audi R8 caught undisguised, convertible version in the works for 2008

Ryan Porter, purveyor of Carster.com, recently snapped these terrific pics of an undisguised Audi R8 outside his office in Santa Monica. Though Porter wishes he had been more aggressive with snaps and gotten some more, this near profile shot is gorgeous and shows the R8 in all its production glory for the first time. Porter's telling of his encounter with the R8 and the irritated engineers driving it can be found here. Check out Carster while you're there, as well. The site is an online community for car enthusiasts and Porter believes members should be able to do whatever they want with their profiles. Carster will even host your own car blog and once a month the member with the most votes wins a $1,000 check.

(Follow the jump for another pic of the R8 in the wild.)

In other Audi R8 news, it appears a convertible version is in the works and will be introduced a year after the coupe sometime in 2008. Though it's been reported the coupe will be powered by the Lamborghini Gallardo's V10, it seems Audi is still considering a V8 to keep the R8 and Gallardo from cannibalizing each other's sales.

[Source: Carster, AutoWeek.nl]