After patiently waiting for years, the twin-turbo-V-6
powered Audi R8 is officially dead. The R8’s project manager, Bjorn
Friedrich, confirmed to Car Throttle in a Thursday report the
current-generation of the supercar will stick with a V-10 engine. And that's
the final answer.
"It's the best engine for the car," Friedrich
said.
The executive's confirmation follows an Audi source who
claimed the long-rumored twin-turbo V-6 was dead this past March. The
possibility of a V-6-powered R8 first came to light in 2016. A leaked product
roadmap showed such a powerplant was planned for the supercar's refresh. Audi revealed the updated
2019 R8 last month and no twin-turbo V-6 was in sight. That likely
means the supercar as we know it will march to the grave with the 5.2-liter
V-10 engine as the only choice. The twin-turbo V-6 would likely have been the
3.0-liter engine from the RS 5, where it makes 444 horsepower.
The V-10 in the 2019 R8 produces 570 hp and 406
pound-feet of torque, up from 540 hp and 398 lb-ft. In the R8 Performance
model, it puts out 620 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque.
The R8's future is rather murky. Previous comments from an
Audi executive pegged this as the final hurrah for the German supercar. In
March, R&D boss Peter Mertens said there were no plans for a successor at
that time.
Since then, rumors have swirled that a successor will arrive
in the future, but possibly with an electric
powertrain. Without a source, British publication Autocar said in
a September report that a third-generation R8 would arrive for 2022 with a
hypercar-like 1,000 or so horsepower.
Rumors of a new R8 also surfaced after Audi showed off
the PB18
e-tron concept car at Pebble Beach this year. The PB18 previewed a future
electric supercar.
We also know Audi plans for an e-tron GT production car. The
electric super sedan will borrow heavily from the Porsche Taycan and ride on
the brand's J1 electric-car platform. Audi will debut an e-tron GT concept at
the 2018 Los Angeles auto show on Nov. 26.
source: https://www2.motorauthority.com/news/1119960_this-2005-ford-gt-was-never-titled-and-its-now-for-sale
by Sean Szymkowski
http://www.boscheuropean.com