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The future of Audi R8 is uncertain, but reports suggest it may become a hybrid or even fully electric by 2023
by Dim Angelov, onWith a few exceptions, Audi is a brand that makes luxury cars that, for the most part, feature a rather unremarkable design. While that changed in the last few years, one model that has always been exciting is the Audi R8. Since its debut, in 2006, the mid-engine model hasn’t experienced any radical changes. However a few months ago, Hildegard Wortmann – Audi’s global chief of sales and marketing – stated that the Audi R8 “is an icon of the past, not necessarily the future”. This points to the R8 nearing the end of its lifespan in order to make room for something new.
In an interview with Top Gear, Hildegard Wortmann also said “The R8 is an icon of our brand. But icons of the past aren’t necessarily icons of the future. A successor to the R8 won’t just be an R8 with an electric motor. It needs to be an R8 but different.” While this could spell the end of Audi R8 as we know it, another report gives us hope that there will be a new generation, as early as 2023.
This information comes from German auto magazine Auto Bild, according to which the next iteration of the mid-engine Audi will most likely come with the company’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. As with earlier models, there will be a less powerful, base version and a more powerful one, only this time, the engine will be the same for both versions.
Currently, Audi’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 develops between 453 and 641 horsepower depending on the version.
The 4.2-liter normally-aspirated V-8 and 5.2-liter V-10 are getting retired, thus marking an end to the normally-aspirated Audi R8
. Given the direction everyone seems to be taking, Auto Bild speculates that a new R8 will have about 700 horsepower and some form of hybrid assistance.
However, there’s another option. Audi has experimented with the R8 platform, giving us some interesting versions of it, none of which ever became popular. In 2008, they introduced the Audi R8 TDI LeMans, which was powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 turbodiesel, mated to a six-speed manual. The car remained a concept.
What Audi did next, however, didn’t just die off as an unfulfilled concept car. In 2015, the German carmaker gave us yet another interpretation of the R8, this time, in the form of theAudi R8 E-Tron. The car was ahead of its time, which is why they only sold about 100 of them. Now, however, the time might be as good as it’s ever going to be for a fully electric version of the Audi R8.
At this point in time, nothing is set in stone. Unless other updates come up, we will have to hold our breath until 2023 (do not actually hold your breath), to find out if the Audi R8 bloodline will carry on or if the next flagship supercar from Audi will even be called Audi R8.
Source: Auto Bild
