Audi has launched the 2014 version for a road car which is the fastest the Volkswagen-owned company has made. The Audi R8 V10 zooms from 0 to 62mph in 3.5 seconds, with top speed at 198 mph. This power comes from a 5.2 liter V10 engine that easily coughs out 525 horsepower, utilizing all four wheels. Its maximum engine speed is at 8700 rpm, with 391 pound-foot torque at 6500 rpm, and the output distributed variably to the front and rear axles via the viscous clutch.
Even faster is the R8 V10 Plus which upgrades the horsepower count to 550. The quattro system lies on a dual clutch set up to replace the R8 automated manual. This 4-wheel baby is equipped with paddle systems for sly smooth drive on normal mode. Take to sport mode and it will show aggression. The “Audi magnetic ride” is an adaptive damper system so that a driver’s speed preference can be configured. The new R8’s new S-tronic box is also capable of two or three gear dropping which is surprisingly snappy yet executes smoothly.
The R8 has shed some of its chunk, around 150 pounds, taking out most of its drag. This is mostly due to the carbon fiber materials for the front splitter, rear diffusers, spoilers and the side blades. The fuel tank’s sound insulation has also been reduced. The front and rear are now clad in aluminum double wishbones. All that weight loss is enhanced by the boon acceleration that ensures better fuel consumption. Supercar buyers do not really care to know about fuel economy buy the R8 V10 rates 19 mpg on the highway and 12 mpg for city cruising for the stick shift model; while the dual clutch variant takes in around 22 mpg for the open road and 12 mpg for the busy streets.
The cabin is everything one would expect the speedy road car to be, starting from the trimmed down flat-bottom steering wheel. There’s a lot of room for the driver and the passenger but trunk space is not actually the Audi R8’s style. The V10 R8 has all the modern comforts and entertainment, including the MMI system. Its controls are mounted on the dashboard and it is installed with a voice command system. The V10 edition starts at $170,000 and the convertible counterparts will require $12,000 on top of the base price. For the double clutch version, price can get to $200,000 which includes taxes, deliveries and optional extras.