It is also the first production car with full- LED headlamps. The car is built by Audi Sport GmbH in a newly renovated factory at Audi's 'aluminium site' at Neckarsulm in Germany. The fundamental construction of the R8 is based on the Audi Space Frame, and uses an aluminium monocoque which is built using space frame principles. The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactured by Audi AG's private subsidiary company manufacturing high performance automotive parts, Audi Sport GmbH (formerly quattro GmbH), and is based on the Lamborghini Gallardo and presently the Huracán platform. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. We will surely miss it when it is gone.Longitudinal mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive / all-wheel-drive Yet even with a slight sticker increase over the old base RWD car, it still looks very well priced considering the inherent magic of that V-10 engine.

The RWD Performance is now the entry level for the range, and the $151,895 starting price ($164,095 for the Spyder) is likely to be a bigger part of its appeal than its slightly enhanced potential for power oversteer. The R8 remains a bit unsure of whether it's a luxury sports car or a supercar, and it's often trying to downplay the theatricality of its spectacular powerplant. The $3600 Sport Exhaust package should probably be regarded as a must-have. That's despite that the exhaust systems of the Euro-spec cars on the launch were slightly muted by gasoline-particulate filters that won't come to the U.S.

Well before it reaches its 8700-rpm redline, the Performance sounds more compelling than most supercars do at any engine speed. But as engine speed rises, the Audi finds its voice. As in other R8s, the Performance remains muted at lower revs, exuding a very different aural character from the always-shouty Lamborghini Huracán. It lacks low-down torque compared with turbocharged rivals, but compensates with strong, linear urge all the way to its altitudinous redline. While little changed from its previous incarnations, the V-10 remains the R8's star feature. The Coupe was also fitted with the intriguing option of a front carbon-fiber anti-roll bar-an $1100 extra that both saves 4.4 pounds of weight and is claimed to sharpen front-axle responses. The Coupe's front end is impressively crisp on the circuit, and the Spyder makes light work of the many hairpin bends on Gran Canaria's mountain roads, but feedback in both is distant and muted. Both cars we drove had the variable-ratio Dynamic rack, which will be a $1400 option in the U.S. Steering feel remains the R8's weak link. This was especially true when a rain shower turned the track slick and made careful throttle management even more important-yet the R8 still felt happier being driven within its limits than at the edge of them. Safely removed from public roads, the Performance could be made to feel distinctly loose when pushed hard. The chance to drive a RWD Coupe on the tight, technical Maspalomas circuit (with spectacular views over the Atlantic Ocean) provides higher lateral loads abetted by a switch to more aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Audi spyder