Skip to main content

Frankfurt: Audi Unveils R8 RWS for Purists

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

The latest iteration of the R8 has been unveiled in Frankfurt and it loses drive to the front wheels. The R8 RWS (Rear Wheel Series) will be limited to a total 999 units in Spyder and Coupe variants.

Powered by Audi’s excellent naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10, the R8 RWS will weigh 110 lbs less and is being hailed as an even rawer driving experience than the all-wheel-drive R8.

“The R8 V10 RWS is made for purists,” said Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Audi Sport GmbH. “A limited-edition special model for customers with an appreciation for essential driving enjoyment, the R8 V10 RWS is an absolutely exclusive offer. With its mid-mounted V10 engine and rear-wheel drive, it successfully brings the driving concept of our R8 LMS racing car to the streets.”

The RWS won’t come with the full fat 610 hp R8 V10 Plus tune but will produce a more than adequate 540 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque, like the standard R8. Without the front wheels to help with acceleration, the 0-60 time has grown slightly to 3.7 seconds (up from the standard model’s 3.5 second sprint time). The Spyder meanwhile will hit 60 in 3.8 seconds.

Bear in mind, though that Audi Sport deliberately quotes less-than-stellar 60 times so that drivers only experience their quoted time or better.

What the RWS loses in 0-60 times, it gains in weight savings. Tipping the scales at 3,505 lbs, it’s no lightweight but lost 110 lbs to its quattro sister. That’s thanks to a lack of propshaft, center diff, and multi-plate clutch, among other things.

Thanks to a brand new chassis set up and some new programming in the drive mode selections, the R8 RWS will be capable of “controlled drifts,” something the old one didn’t exactly struggle with. But the car should be more exciting around a track, if not necessarily as fast.

Available on sale in Europe as of this fall, the R8 RWS will come with standard black-finished 19-inch cast aluminum wheels wearing 245/35 rubber up front, and 295/35s in the back. Those of us who can’t afford it will know it by its optional red stripe, which crosses the car in the middle (on the roof, that is), going through a diagonal Audi Sport quadrangle.

The post Frankfurt: Audi Unveils R8 RWS for Purists appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2f09HzZ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump

Filed under: Volkswagen , Crossover Continue reading 2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump 2025 VW Taos gets styling tweaks, power bump originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog https://ift.tt/5syqkoQ
Post a Comment
Read more

Novitec, Unsatisfied with Aventador SV, Adds More Veloce

The Lamborghini Aventador SV is no slouch, but if you’re into Lamborghinis, chances are you’re into big numbers. Whether it’s in the bank or under the hood, a big number could, and perhaps should, always be bigger, which is where Novitec steps in. Novitec has been modifying Italian cars for years, and their Torado line is dedicated to making ridiculous Lamborghinis even more ridiculous. Their latest effort takes the Aventador SV and remaps the engine to give it 786hp and 544 lb-ft of toque. They’ve also fitted the car with a new exhaust system that cuts 50 lbs off the car. Other mods include a carbon fiber aero package, spoiler, front splitter and air intake, all of which helps it shed even more weight. The Aventador also sits on 21 (back) and 20 (front) inch Vossen wheels. So if you think that a regular Aventador is just a little too pedestrian, give Novitec a call and they’ll hook you up. The post Novitec, Unsatisfied with Aventador SV, Adds More Veloce appeared first on VWVor...
Post a Comment
Read more