Audi призна за голяма историческа грешка – haroonabadvital.com
The second generation R8 missed out on the supercar revolution
One of the popular supercars of the past 15 years, the Audi R8, was discontinued just a few months ago, and at least in the short term, its successor is nowhere in sight.. However, the German company is only now admitting its mistakeWith the second generation of the model released in 2015.
The first generation Audi R8 was launched in two versions – the first with a 4.0-liter turbo V8, as well as a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 from the Lamborghini Huracan. It was the stronger option that remained the only possible option in the second and final generation of the model. However, it turns out that the RS 3 Sportback engine option is ready for it.
Marcus Marquez, one of the heads of the electronic fuel development program at Porsche, revealed his participation in the project. In addition to a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder TFSI engine with a power of 400 horsepower. The weaker R8 was also equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox. It protects the Quattro all-wheel drive system, with transmission to the rear axle.
Audi engineers settled on the 5-cylinder engine, as it is not only very reliable, but with simple improvements its power can be significantly increased. An example of this is the Donkervoort F22 sports car, whose engine generates 500 horsepower.The same approach was used in the second R8
“It was a shame because the five-cylinder turbo engine was very powerful, looked different and worked very well in the R8. The car was also lighter and more agile, but some people at Audi Sport decided, That this is not a real R8 and that things did not happen“, Marquez reveals.
According to him, the only excuse in this case was that the Audi range at that time had the TT RS, which was based on the same configuration – a 5-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. But the difference is that the engine is located in the front and transversely. If Audi had approved the car, it would have caused real harm to competitors, as none of them would have dared to do so.
At that time, any such car that did not have a V8 engine was considered blasphemy, but now Mercedes, for example, The AMG GT sells with a 4-cylinder engine with less than 500 horsepower. Certainly, if Audi decides to make a similar move, it will not only be ahead of the curve, but it will also generate more sales.