Audi is readying an R8 successor for a mid-decade launch, which will reinvent the marque's famous halo model while also helping to reposition the brand as an electric forerunner.
The supercar has not yet been officially signed off but is very much under way, according to insiders. It won't be called the R8 and will take an entirely new design direction, so it won't resemble the long-standing model.
However, it will stay true to a pure sports car concept, with two doors and more power than anything else in the Audi range, albeit coming from an electric set-up.
The current R8 remains in production and a run-out model, expected to be a RWD GT, will be revealed later this year before all variants of the car stop being made at the end of 2023.
Talking about that specific model, Audi Sport boss Sebastian Grams said: "What we are trying to do is get as close as we can to that ultimate feeling of racing." He added that 60% of its parts are similar to GT3-spec cars.
The R8 is made alongside the E-tron GT and RS E-tron GT at the Audi Sport factory in Böllinger Höfe, Germany considered at the forefront of Audi's innovative production techniques - so the facility is already geared up to produce high-end electric models.
While Audi Sport expedites development of the R8 successor, the team responsible for primarily hand building the R8 will stay on at the factory after R8 production ends, allowing Audi to ramp up E-tron GT production.
However, it also means they will be trained and ready to start building the R8 successor within a couple of years, because Audi is keen for handbuilt elements to remain a feature of a new flagship sports car to reflect its position in the line-up and justify its expense.
This story is from the August 31, 2022 edition of Autocar UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 31, 2022 edition of Autocar UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AUDI SQ8 E-TRON SPORTBACK
Our big EV has already clocked 10,000 miles. Here's what we've learned so far
RAISING THE SHED
The 'factory' where Tyrrell's F1 winners were made has been saved from demolition. Damien Smith peers inside
LIKE A SCAT OUT OF HELL
Brendan McAleer convenes two Scat Pack Dodges in Hells Gate, Canada, to give the V8 muscle car icons a suitably sizzling send-off
Slow but 'Shaw
For certain EV customers, range and speed scarcely matter, and what they do need is best provided by a small British company called Bradshaw.
"I want to know what they are whispering to their mechanics
Ford boss Jim Farley tells Steve Cropley why both he and the company will continue racing, what's next for Mustang and one thing that would lead to his instant dismissal
JEEP WRANGLER
Jeep updates its brand-defining macho 4x4 as it enjoys a surge in popularity
AUDI Q4 E-TRON
EV is now more potent and more efficient - but is something missing from UK spec?
MERCEDES-AMG CLE 53 COUPE
Extra 67bhp and dynamic upgrades for angrier-looking version of new two-door
MG 3
Cheap-as-chips supermini makes way for all-new hybrid aimed at bereft Fiesta fans
Urus now PHEV only - with 789bhp
Lamborghini's revised SUV drops pure petrol for a V8 hybrid with a 37-mile EV range