AUDI'S R8 supercar may have only been on sale in Australia since late 2007, making it a relative youngster in a world of long supercar model cycles, but Audi is already working on the next-generation car due in 2014, concentrating its efforts on developing a lightweight new aluminium spaceframe construction that should yield significant improvements over the already-epic current model. In the meantime, just 10 well-heeled Australian Audi fans can while their time behind the wheel of this R8 Carbon Edition, which comprises a package of – you guessed it – carbon-fibre accoutrements and other niceties that can be applied to any R8 variant. Audi says the package is valued at $38,100 – enough to buy a mid-spec A1 hatch – but the special-edition’s price premium is $10,900, or less than the cost of a Chery J1. Although they add a level of exclusivity to an already-exclusive car, none of the additions are likely to make much of a difference to how the car drives – but entirely to benefit our readers we took the R8 Carbon Edition for a spin, just to be sure.