Power & Launch Control
Enormous propulsive power across wide speed range
The heart of the sports car is of course the engine. As well as being exceptionally compact, the eight-cylinder power unit of the R8 runs lustily and effortlessly up to very high engine speeds, peaking at 8,250 rpm. The reward is 420 bhp and an even buildup of torque that produces enormous propulsion across a wide range of engine speeds. The engine’s dry sump lubrication, typical of a race engine, permits a particularly low installed location and assures a constant oil supply in even the toughest of driving conditions – for instance on a racetrack. And the FSI direct injection underpins the very good full-load performance with a highly efficient combustion process.
The road performance is correspondingly impressive: the R8 dashes from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds, whether with manual gearbox or with R tronic sequential gearshifting. The needle hits 200 km/h after just 14.9 seconds, and the engine’s propulsion is only finally held in check by rolling resistance and drag at 301 km/h.
However, the captivating character of the V8 stems not just from its effortless propulsion, but equally from its ample, versatile sound characteristics. Thanks to ingenious fine-tuning measures, Audi’s engineers isolated disagreeable frequencies and then orchestrated an impressive opus from the intake and exhaust sound.
Lightning start thanks to launch control
The R8’s transmission comes with six well-spaced ratios that can be operated either manually, in conjunction with the clutch, or automatically via the R tronic. The R tronic is an entirely new development that operates faster than even the most adept of drivers and offers racing-style thrills with the shift paddles on the steering wheel. The R tronic accomplishes lightning-fast starts worthy of the racetrack thanks to launch control.
The quattro permanent four-wheel drive system provides that decisive extra dose of traction and driving safety.
The system has been adapted to the mid-engine concept, with its ideal axle load distribution of 44:56 percent, and directs between 10 and 35 percent of the engine’s power to the front wheels as necessary.
