Following on the sold-out success of the Audi R8 GT Coupé, Audi South Africa is now introducing the Audi R8 GT Spyder on special order. Like the Coupé, the open-top version of the high-performance sports car is capped at 333 units scheduled for production 2012. Each car sports an individual number on the gear lever knob.
Audi R8 GT Spyder will be ordered on the basis of customer order only. Five units have already been ordered and are destined for arrival in March 2012, but another five are available to order through the major Audi Centre’s across the country for R2 775 000.
Like the hard-top coupe version, the GT Spyder features the same 412 kW, 5.0-litre V10, that gives the supercar it’s 317 km/h top speed and 3.8 second 0 – 100 km/h sprint time. The R8 GT Spyder is available exclusively with the R-tronic automated manual transmission – a pitty really, as the our test revealed it to be a cumbersome ‘box that detracts from the R8′s enjoyment slightly.
Not cumbersome, however, is the lightweight fabric soft top that is fully automated and can be raised or lowered in about 19 seconds at speeds up to 50 km/h. The fabric roof, together with Audi’s space-frame aluminium body shell, help to reduce weight by 85 kgs over the standard R8 coupe.
The R8 GT Spyder is easy to spot with add-on parts in contrasting metallic grey; a front splitter with a dual lip; aeronautic-style canards at the sides of the front bumper; red GT badges; round exhaust tailpipes; an enlarged diffuser and dark LED rear lights in a clear-glass design.
