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In Detail: The New Audi R8 |
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Sep 27, 2006 |
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Audi has incorporated the name and the
genes of the five-time Le Mans winner, the
Audi R8, into a spectacular sports car.
Three years after the unveiling of the
Audi Le Mans quattro concept car, the
production version will be making its
debut at the Paris Motor Show in the guise
of the new Audi R8 mid-engined sports
model. It is a fascinating driving machine
and the sporty pinnacle of the Audi brand.
The mid-mounted 420 bhp V8 FSI engine,
quattro permanent four-wheel drive and
Audi Space Frame aluminium body form the
basis for truly outstanding driving
dynamics. The Audi R8 will be available to
order from 28 September 2006; first
deliveries will be made in the first half
of 2007.
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As the first Audi mid-engined sports car,
the R8 combines Audi's experience gained
from numerous motorsport triumphs with
groundbreaking design and the acknowledged
technological expertise of the brand. This
expertise has led to the slogan 'Vorsprung
durch Technik' becoming a byword for
leading-edge technology both on the race
track and on the road.
Audi has recorded countless motorsport
victories on race tracks all over the
world. Following the rally successes of
the Ingolstadt brand in the 1980s, and its
triumphs on the touring car circuit, the
world of long-distance motor racing was
without a doubt the biggest challenge yet
faced by Audi’s motorsport engineers.
And they mastered this challenge in style
too: the Audi R8 won the prestigious Le
Mans 24 Hours five times – from 2000 to
2002 and in 2004 and 2005 – and on two
occasions even took the first three
places.
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Le Mans is without doubt the toughest
challenge to the Audi Sport Team's
engineers because it calls for a level of
engineering going far beyond the need
merely to keep all the systems focussed on
a short, sharp sprint. Alongside the
essential virtues of top performance and
optimised driving dynamics, the key
requirements in long-distance racing are
endurance and reliability, allied with
optimum ergonomic design.
These are genes which are eminently
transferable to a road-going sports car
too, and which, allied to its exciting
design, make the Audi R8 truly
unmistakeable.
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Main press
release page |
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Exterior |
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Interior |
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Equipment and
trim |
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