Skip to main content

Report: Mystery R8 Might Have Packed a 500 HP V6

Spy pictures of an Audi R8 testing the other day, as they often do, raised more questions than they answered. Now, a report claims to have answers to many of the burning questions raised by those shots.

Autocar reports that the mystery R8 was actually the long-rumored R8 V6 and that all of the car’s rear-end differences were as a result of the mill’s smaller proportions.

The exact V6 in question is the Porsche/Audi 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 that is currently housed in everything from the RS4 Avant to the Porsche Cayenne. Apparently, Audi hasn’t landed on a final power figure for the R8—and like its V10 sister, the R8 V6 is expected to come with more than one output number—but the report claims the unit could make more than 500 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque.

Although the idea of a small-displacement, forced induction R8 might seem antithetical to the whole exercise, the n/a V10 being such an important part of the current R8’s charm and uniqueness, but a smaller, lighter engine would lower overall weight of the car, which isn’t exactly a featherweight.

And although 500 hp is a full 40 less than the standard R8, it’s still a more than ample number.

If the report is right, it could prove to be an important one indeed, since recent comments by the head of R&D at Audi suggest that the V10 might be on its way out, so we’ll have to get used to smaller displacement. On the other hand, he did suggest that the V8 will be safe for a while, so the V6 might not be our lot.

[source: Autocar]

The post Report: Mystery R8 Might Have Packed a 500 HP V6 appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2xmI5Z9
via IFTTT

Comments

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...

Volkswagen’s Gone to California with Grand California Camper

Volkswagen is bringing the California XXL concept to production. It will debut at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon as the Grand California. It’s set to be based on the medium wheelbase Crafter van. That’s the company’s full-size commercial van, larger than the T6 Transporter based California. The high roof means room for adults to stand up, though it won’t get the concept’s extended length. The Grand California offers a full wet bathroom. It’s not exactly spacious, though, measuring in at around 31.5 x 33-inches. A toilet, shower, and sink are all crammed into that space, but at least there are motion sensor lights to stop you from reaching for a switch. Standard, the Grand California it comes with berths for two adults. Space for two children is optional, but they’ll be stuck in a berth amove the driver’s area. The kitchen offers a sink, stove, and two fridges. The front seats swivel to add seating space when the RV is parked. It’s also got solar panels, an integrated satellite dish,...

Volkswagen Group Records Best Ever First-Half-of-Year Sales

With 5.5 million vehicles in customer hands after the first six months of 2018, the Volkswagen Group is seeing the best performance of its history. Group deliveries increased significantly in all core regions,” said Fred Kappler, head of sales for the Group. “Our core brands recorded strong growth in the first half year.” For the year-to-date, all of Volkswagen’s brands had sales bumps. MAN, SEAT, and Skoda led the sales charge with performances 24%, 17% and 11% better than the previous year. The big sellers, too, had strong sales periods, with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, and Volkswagen sales rising 3.5%, 4.5% and 6.3% respectively. That last figure is particularly good new for the board, since Volkswagen alone sold more than 3 million vehicles in the first half of 2018. As Kappler stated, the numbers are equally good when you break sales down by region. Brazil and Russia were the most improved markets (22% and 20%, respectively), while strong sales in Europe and China (u...