Audi to take on the supercars
| Sunday, 29 July 2007 | |
| BY JOE TONER Audi is no longer considered the great pretender, having successfully elbowed its way into the Teutonic premium brand club that was previously the preserve of Mercedes and BMW. Now Audi has decided to raise the stakes even higher and announced entry into the supercar club competing head on not only with BMW and Mercedes but also Porsche, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. The new car, known as the R8, is a mid-engined, aluminium bodied, two seater coupé, powered by a 4.2 litre V8 engine producing 420bhp. The mid-engined layout is often favoured by supercars because it helps to create a near perfect 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles, giving good balance and control in extreme conditions. Allied to the now legendary Quattro 4 wheel drive system the car should have almost fool-proof handling. Audi views the car as a road-going version of its very successful R8 race car which has had considerable success in recent years racing at the Le Mans circuit. While this is Audi’s first foray into the supercar market, a lot of the mechanicals are tried and tested. The engine has already seen service in the RS4 and the six-speed transmission, either manual or the R Tronic semi automatic, has seen service in the Lamborghini Gallardo. Audi’s ownership of Lamborghini has given its engineers access to the skill and expertise of the Italian automaker in the R8’s development. The cars share only 15 per cent of their componentry and they are differentiated by their individual styling, interior, and engines. While enjoying access to the Italians Audi is being careful to maintain its reputation for reliability, something that Italian supercars have never been renowned for. The car certainly has the looks to turn heads and in this sector of the market that’s half the battle. It will be almost hand built at a rate of no more than 20 cars in a day and annual production limited to 3,000 units. On the road the car will accelerate from 0 – 100km/h in 4.6 seconds and top out at 301km/h. Even before this car has seen Irish roads there are rumours of a more powerful variant using a 5.2litre 570bhp V10. This has already seen service in the Audi S8 and in different tune in the Gallardo. If Audi can transfer the build quality and reliability of its mainstream models to the supercar arena then it will be a hard car to bypass. Though, for some, no matter how good the product the lure of the the Ferrari or Porsche badge may be just too hard to resist. Audi Ireland is releasing the car through three dealers in Ireland, Frank Hogan in Limerick, Sheehy Motors in Naas, and Park Motors in Dublin. If you want one you know where to go! |
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Mandi on July 31st 2007 in Exotic Car Rental
Alright you who make up the Old Farts club remember the days when this little beauty hit the scene. What memories these the “Bulli” bring back. GizMag wrote the best article giving some really cool background info on how one mans vision extended from a panel truck and became the VW camper known as the “Bulli”.
