Audi R8 GT
was a curious car; lighter than a regular one by 100kg and more powerful as well, it promised a great deal. By and large it delivered too, only to be hamstrung by that rather rubbish R-Tronic automated manual gearbox. Coming just before the
R8 facelift
that ushered in the dual-clutch gearbox, its presence in the R8 history has largely been forgotten.
But that doesn't mean Audi has overlooked the possibility of resurrecting the idea of a hardcore flagship. Indeed, spy shots of a mule testing somewhere on the continent has Autoblog and autoevolution all a flutter - both suggesting that the chunky exhausts and prominent rear diffuser preview the next
Audi R8 GT
It's an intriguing and not unpleasant thought. An R8 V10 Plus is 50hp up on where the old 560hp GT was, so another slight boost would obviously widen the gap further - let's call it 630hp, so as not to embarrass the Performante. Reduce the weight and upgrade the suspension - the old GT ditched the V10's adaptive dampers for manually adjustable items - and you have the potential for a very serious supercar.
Alternatively, take the V10 out of the equation, and you've got something else entirely. See Autocar is saying that it's not a GT at all but rather the entry-level V6 version that's been talked about for a while, using the 2.9-litre twin-turbo unit from the RS5 to market in countries with punitive taxes on larger engines. It says there will be smaller exhaust baffles because of the smaller engine, which is why there's a disguise at the rear.
Should this car be a V6, expect it to boast more power than the
450hp RS models
- and hopefully a more exciting character too - but of course not quite enough to tread on the toes of the 540hp V10. Blowers will obviously bring torque, which is great for real-world performance (and something the atmospheric V10s aren't known for), so don't be surprised if the headline power figure is a little way off; the
standard V10
is 70hp down on a Plus, and using the same gap for the V6 drops it to 470hp...
A smaller engine will reduce weight as well, hopefully making the most of the R8's mid-engined dynamics. For a long time there's been a belief that the first-gen manual V8 was the nicest handling R8 that ever there was; if this new 'entry-level' car can get back to that (though you'll wait in vain for a clutch pedal) then that's surely something to be celebrated.
Audi, needless to say, officially denies knowledge of a forthcoming car in either vogue. Place your bets.
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