If you can remember Audi Sport Performance Parts press release of 363 days ago, then bravo on excellent recall. In it Audi disclosed a raft of upgrades for the TT and R8, including braided brake lines, forged wheels, aero kits and naughty exhausts. It was a distinctly un-Audi move, and rather appealing as a result.
A year later and there's this, the Audi Sport Performance Parts R8 Edition, a sort of added value meal of Audi Sport add-ons. Because it sort of has everything you possibly could option on to an R8 via Audi Sport, though the value is maybe a point to return to...
For those with an interest in motorsport, this 610hp R8 Plus (plus a lot more) is very interesting. The aerokit may not be the most elegant in the world, but it contributes to 250kg of downforce at top speed, more than 100kg extra compared to a regular Plus. The kit is fully carbon and, in a nod to another very rare mid-engined Audi, features canards said to evoke the first-gen R8 GT.
The multi-spoke, 20-inch wheels are fully milled (a technology first introduced in the RS5), shod in Michelin Cup 2 tyres and are said to save up to 8kg compared to standard R8 wheels. And we all know how beneficial reductions in unsprung mass can be. Arguably of greater interest is Audi's decision to fit the ASPPR8E with three-way adjustable coilovers for "full adjustability on road and track." That will be manually adjustable too; pretty cool to dorks like us, surely anathema to those R8 customers who would tick the mag ride box without a second's hesitation. Ceramic discs are standard, too, with titanium backing plates for weight reduction and new pads as well for "highly effective stopping power and even tougher fade resistance."
It's a pretty serious overhaul, then, this Audi Sport R8, seemingly making good on the claims of "genetic links with motorsport." That said, the aesthetic is undone a little by the standard Fine Nappa leather, Audi connect online services and Audi Smartphone Interface. Just 44 will be produced for the entire world, with five Misano Red cars coming to the UK.
The price is £176,560, or £35,360 more than a mechanically identical R8 V10 Plus. Which is quite a lot, although carbon aero parts don't come cheap, and neither do ceramic brakes, or good coilovers... So perhaps it might be good value. The five will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, but available at all 115 Audi dealerships. So, er, best move fast!
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