AutoCar has published further intel about the upcoming R8 LMS inspired Audi R8 road car that we’ve internally heard referred to as R8 GT (and until we hear otherwise, that’s what we’ll call it). Given AutoCar just got back from the R8 Spyder launch and likely had great access to the R8 development team, we give a lot of credence to what they’ve said. Here’s a quick rundown.
- A single roadgoing example of the so-called R8 GT has been built for evaluation purposes by Audi’s board of management (A51 Camera Alert, Michael Dick might commute in this car! ). There’s good news here, VW Group godfather Ferdinand Piech likes the car and that will play well in the process toward its production approval.
- The R8 GT will be part of Audi’s plan to produce a different variant or evolution of the R8 every 1-2 years much as the Lamborghini Gallardo and Porsche 911 have already done. No doubt the strategy would play well to the R8 customer base as well.
- The R8 is expected to have a 7-8 year lifecycle much as other cars. It was introduced in 2006, so don’t expect an all-new model before 2013 at the earliest.
- The tie to the R8 LMS won’t just be one of marketing. AutoCar sites Audi’s experience with the abuse to which the racecars have been exposed and has identified key points in the R8′s ASF framework where the car could be reinforced for improved rigidity and performance.
- It sounds like the dual clutch gearbox may not come about until the second generation car if AutoCar is accurate.
- The added weight of batteries that would be experienced within the context of an R8-based production e-tron has given Audi further reason to consider using lighter weight carbon fiber in the framework of the next-generation R8 and this is consistent with the flexibility of the next-gen car’s development that we’ve heard via our own discussions with Audi development staff.
- While the R8 may move to a dual clutch gearbox to replace the current R-tronic, the rumor is that Lamborghini is resisting this and will not make the move with the next-generation Gallardo. So does this mean manual only or a further evolution of the current e-gear system on which R-tronic is based? Time will tell.
Finally, the photo above is not the R8 GT. The car shown is an R8 used by Audi Sport as a race taxi at various DTM events. We chose the photo though because it shows a similar rear spoiler as seen on R8 GT test mules caught at Nurburgring although we suspect the larger chin spoiler of the Race Taxi may not be consistent with production based on those same spy photos.
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