Audi R8 South Africa 2015
The 2015 Audi R8 is about to make an anticipated debut after we’ve been teased long enough with several concept images. The arrival coincides neatly with the South African launch of the Audi TT – a car that many people expected the R8 to draw design cues from. Has it? A bit of TT mixed with Lamborghini Huracan. That’s a fine mash-up.
The Audi R8 has been tested around the Nurburgring (no surprise there) and Audi say it’s the best one yet. They would, obviously. The dimensions are the same but the wheelbase and tracks are longer and wider – like the Huracan. Designers have dusted it with sharper bumpers, grille and new lights. Laser lights will be an option, and we expect to see them in motor sport for the first time in this year’s running of Le Mans.
Most of the body is derived from aluminium for a shared structure with the upcoming R8 e-tron. There’s an additional weight saving that comes from the carbon fibre central tunnel. Audi say it weighs 50kg.
Inside the Audi R8 comes to life thanks to a digital dash, like the only introduced by the Audi TT, allowing the driver to customise the digital display with high resolution graphics. From the pictures the R8 appears to be a smarter place to sit than in the Huracan – itself a comfortable cockpit.
This is probably the last time we’ll see the Audi R8 with a normally aspirated engine. A power unit closely related to the Lamborghini Huracan (5.2 V10) will catapult the Audi R8 from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds. Again the S-tronic gearbox will be the only option. No complaints there.
Is it wildly different than before? Probably not conclusively but the R8 has always done well because of its bargain price and supple and liveable road manners. There’s also the logical German switchgear and ergonomics which people are rather fond of.
