Okay, so this isn’t exactly the most surprising news of the day, but it sure ranks up there with the coolest. Audi is said to be launching a Spyder version for the R8 GT at the Frankfurt Motor Show this Fall. As with the coupe version, the Spyder will be limited to 333 units and should be priced at about $20,000 higher than the coupe, which is sold for about $196,800 in the U.S. The similarities will even extend to the number of units available in the U.S. We last heard that we were getting 90 units of the GT Coupe and we expect the same number for the Spyder version.
Under the hood, Audi will place the same 5.2 liter V10 engine that delivers a total of 560 HP and 398 lbs-ft of torque, but because of the soft-top, the future spyder version will only have a top speed of 193mph, 6mph less than the coupe. The added weight is obviously necessary, but does go away from Audi’s original weight-savings goal for the R8 GT. In order to achieve the 220 lbs weight loss for the Audi R8 GT Coupe, the company used a new carbon fiber liftback, a fixed rear wing, modified brake calipers, reduced engine-bay sound deadening, and a lighter windscreen. We expect them to provide similar treatment for the convertible version of the R8 GT.
UPDATE 05/17/2011: After seeing the first sketches of the R8 GT Spyder, MotorAuthority has finally caught the car testing in Europe. The most powerful and lighter R8 Spyder ever will be revealed for the first time at the Le Mans 24 hours endurance race in June 2011 and will make its world debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in September.
No comments:
Post a Comment