Remember those rumors about a more powerful and lighter Audi R8? Here’s the car we were talking about: the Audi R8 GT, a special edition limited to a total of 333 units and priced at $198,000. We didn’t think Audi would bless the U.S. with this baby, but we are actually getting about a third of those units sent over to us. Sweet!
As we mentioned earlier, the Audi R8 GT is a lighter car. In fact, it dropped about 220 lbs from a total of 3,582.51 lbs. In order to accomplish this weight reduction Audi added a windshield made of thinner glass and a bulkhead between the passenger cell and engine compartment. The window located in the rear hatch is made of strong, lightweight polycarbonate. Other additions that make this vehicle more lightweight are a fixed rear wing, thinner sheet metal and additional cutouts, a long rear hatch, a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) rear bumper and sideblades, lightweight carpeting accounts, and the glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) chassis in the bucket seats.
Another change to this skinny Audi R8 GT is the added power. The 5.2 FSI V10 has been tricked out to deliver a total of 560 HP and 540 Nm (398.28 lb-ft) at 6,500 rpm. The result is a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, from 0 to 124 mph in 10.6 seconds, and a top speed of 198.8 mph. This spicy engine comes with a sexy exterior body that comes in 4 different colors: Samoa Orange metallic, Suzuka Gray metallic, Ice Silver metallic, and Phantom Black pearl effect.
We are so thankful that the rumors were true because this car ended up being everything we anticipated it would be. Unfortunately, we think the closest the U.S. will get to having a peek at this car is through the online configurator which we hope they will produce.
UPDATE 11/22/2010: The most powerful Audi R8, the V10 GT has been taken to the one track that really matters; the Nurburgring. With Horst von Saurma behind the wheel this ultra-sexy sportscar clocked in a time of 7:34, making it a direct competitor for the Porsche 911 GT3 RS that reported a time of 7.33.
UPDATE 03/16/2011: Audi of America has announced prices for the 2012 R8 GT sports car. The lightest, fastest and most powerful entry in the Audi supercar lineup, will be limited to only 333 units, with the US market only getting 90 of them. Prices will start from $196,800.
Press release after the jump.
Audi R8 GT originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 16 March 2011 15:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/audi/2011-audi-r8-gt-ar89231.html
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