Audi / R8 / 4.2 V8 FSI quattro coupe
Overview
AUDI crashes the supercar party with a two-seater mid-engined sports car so accessible and complete that it evokes memories simultaneously of the Honda NSX, Porsche 911 and Ferrari Dino.
The Volkswagen-owned luxury brand has been itching to build a car like this for decades, and even though Italian stablemate Lamborghini’s Gallardo has played a large part in the development of the striking R8, it is still very much an Audi - as well as a hardcore driver’s car, but with a softer, more forgiving side.
This is a sensational vehicle.
Model release date: October 2007
Audi stunned the world (and scared the hell out of a deeply troubled Porsche) with the quattro Spyder Concept, a two-seater coupe with all-wheel drive, a mid-mounted 2.8-litre V6 engine delivering 128kW of power and 245Nm of torque, and styling that still looks contemporary today.
Its aluminium body predated the production A8 limousine of 1994, and helped keep the concept’s weight down to an astonishing 1100kg.
Sadly, only two prototypes were ever built – the orange car that stole the 1991 Frankfurt motor show, as well as a green example.
If Audi had put this car into production, it may have re-written the supercar book as emphatically as the NSX had only a year or so earlier.