Audi too the wraps off and dropped the top off its new R8 at the , unveiling a new Spyder version boasting a 540-horsepower V10 and a cloth roof capable of being raised or lowered in just 20 seconds. The automaker says the fabric top, which can be raised or lowered at speeds of up to 50 km/h, was selected for its lighter weight.
The second-generation R8 is shorter but wider than its predecessors, but also keeps weight down by employing carbon fibre and aluminum in its chassis. It鈥檚 that lightweight frame that surrounds the R8 Spyder鈥檚 heart, a 5.2-litre 540-horsepower V10 that sends some 398 lb-ft of torque through a seven-speed dual-clutch, enough to rocket it to 100 km/h from zero in 3.6 seconds. Yes, the R8 Spyder is capable of speeds approaching 318 km/h (197 mph), but thanks to cylinder deactivation and an automatic coasting mode has also bettered fuel economy over its predecessor by 10 percent; the new car averages 11.7 L/100 km.
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Audi likes to underline that because the second-generation R8 was developed concurrently with its race car variant, many of the pieces 鈥� up to 50 percent 鈥� from the R8 Le Mans GT3 car wound up in the production vehicle, too. The interior carries through that race car-bred feel, too, with a driver-focused cockpit centered around a steering wheel that offers the person using it all major functions, right at their fingertips. Information is displayed on a 12.3-inch screen directly behind that wheel.
