"Audi R8 GT3 LMS Evo racer previews 2019 supercar" (Car magazine)

► Camouflaged R8 Spyder spotted already
► New race car revealed at the Paris motor show
► Is this a preview to the new R8?

(2 October 2018)

Audi has revealed its new R8 GT3 Evo LMS racer, and it looks to be a preview of the company’s forthcoming flagship supercar. Ingolstadt revealed the last R8 in racing-trim before the production version, and it looks to be doing the same this time around, too.

So, what’s new?

Ignore the huge wheel arches and aerofoils for a second, and the first thing you notice on the R8 LMS racer is a slightly revised grille. It keeps the same octagonal, Singleframe shape as the current Audi line-up, but also features a trio of quattro-style slots at the top – much like the new Audi A1.

We know Ingolstadt is keen to sprinkle some motorsport pedigree into its upcoming cars, and that retro grille will do just that.

At the same time, new, rhombus shaped front air-intakes seem to echo that of a R8 development mule we’ve already seen, and the ‘straight-across’ mesh at the rear of the racecar also matches up with our existing spy shots. If the new R8 looks anything like this beast, we’ll be happy.

Back to the racer

Audi says the new racer will features improved drivability for amateur, gentleman drivers and will use a new front splitter to increase downforce and rear-brake cooling. At the same time, a revised gearbox and clutch should stretch out the time between rebuilds by 50%.

As for the engine? Audi says the new car keeps the same 5.2-litre V10 as before, which will require servicing every 10,000km and a rebuild in double that distance. Deliveries of the car will start in November at of 398,000 Euros, with an Evo kit available for existing cars landing at almost affordable 28,000 Euros.

New Audi R8 (2019): everything else we know

Our spy photographers have spotted an updated Audi R8 supercar again, and this time in Spyder form. Like the coupe version we saw before, the new car comes with a new face and some rather telling new exhausts, too.

From the front, the R8 Spyder we’ve seen has the same tweaked grille shape we saw on the coupe, and shares similar styling to the new Q8 SUV. What’s more, there’s more venting on show – with clean areas of mesh rather than the finned ones of the current R8.

At the back, this Spyder version of the mystery-R8 features the same drain-pipe exhausts and new cooling seen on the coupe. The same spoiler as seen on the Plus remains here, but the rear venting area has been shaped to span right across the rear of the car, even if some of it is blanked out for the number plate. There are even slim vents in the side sills, features unseen on previous versions of the car.

Most crucially, though, are the exhausts; these are new, fat oval ones usually seen on Audi’s RS cars like the RS5 coupe and TT RS, for example – and on the camo’d coupe we’ve already seen. These, along with Audi’s ceramic brakes suggest that this version goes beyond the R8 V10 Plus – almost as if this is the flagship R8 GT, like the previous generation.

If that’s true, power is expected to come from the 5.2-litre V10 but with a little more power squeezed out of it.

We’ll surely find out more from Audi in the coming months... 

Link: https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/spy-shots/audi/audi-r8-2019-supercar-spy-shots-first-details/