Why Audi needs a diesel R8: PH Blog
Go on Audi, have the courage of your Vorsprung Durch whatnot convictions!
Namely, make us a diesel R8. Really.
To think the idea made it this far before!
They teased us with an R8 V12 TDI concept back in 2008. Our colleagues at Autocar even got to drive it. But still no production car.
The naturally-aspirated 5.2-litre V10 carried over into the new R8 remains a weird choice of powerplant to me. It's a glorious motor that, weirdly, seems a bit anachronistic compared with the rest of the package. It fits a lot better in the closely related Lamborghini Huracan. So why not let it work its magic there, giving Lambo a real USP against the turbocharged McLaren and Ferrari rivals?
And sling that amazing V8 TDI from the new SQ7 in the back of the R8, to give us something properly innovative. At its best Audi is superb at this kind of thing - it was doing downsized twin-turbo V6s with huge power decades before the rest of the industry. And they still feel potent to this day. Looking further back it successfully sold us the dream of four-wheel drive, spectacularly proving the technology in competition before masterfully exploiting its marketing and functional potential in its road cars.
There's a tangible motorsport link too
It's funny. A lack of self-confidence isn't something we usually associate with Audi. But, faced with a seemingly golden opportunity to 'own the space' and do something truly radical, it seems uncharacteristically hesitant.
C'mon guys. Give it a go!
Dan
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[Sources: Autocar]
A depressing opinion, if genuine. There are few things the world needs less than another Diesel powered car. We are only just waking up to the legacy that mass DERV adoption has left us, and now you want one of the few remaining untainted automotive categories (supercars) to buckle and accept the inevitable?
There would nothing innovative about a Diesel R8. Simply politics, fashion and marketing. True innovation would be manufacturers rebutting heavily compromised and dubious Diesel technology in favour of something better suited to the application.
It might not be The Answer. But it would be interesting. And different to what everyone else is doing.
Keep it coming!
Dan
ks on emissions....and look how that's turning out. In the US petrol is king, in Japan they've never really gone down the diesel passenger car route. They only ended up developing diesels to suit Europe. Honda used to re badge old ISUZU engines!Audi should really be making the R8 hold the kind of energy recovery system they have on the Le Mans racer. Put the V8 back in (because the V8 sounds way less anodyne than the V10) and get some electric motors on the front wheels or something.
This kind of hybrid tech seems so far limited to the ultra hyper cars (P1, 918)... I am sure there is room for the same kind of stuff on the level of the R8.
Audi is WINNING with diesel performance cars.
Audi won with quattro, then that came over into its car range and became its flagship "feature" in all its highest performance cars.
Why not diesel V8/12's too?
In theory it should be possible and the car would probably be epic. However I think the recent issues with the diesel emissions and peoples perception of diesel have killed that idea. No doubt an electric hybrid petrol turbo is in the R&D labs as a priority instead.
It might not be The Answer. But it would be interesting. And different to what everyone else is doing.
Keep it coming!
Dan
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