Archive for November 22nd, 2007

Audi is now poised to join the league of super cars such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, thanks to blatant advertising for its new Audi R8 in the Ironman movie.

The main character in the show, a rich and feted playboy, emerges from the vehicle to a flurry of paparazzi camera flashes.

Alright, so this is a supercar, and enginestartbutton is an automotive tuning site. Hey, comeon…with horsepower and torque this sinful, it deserves a mention on my site!

Sharp eyed enthusiasts say the Audi R8’s design looks too similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo.

They are not paranoid. Audi does own Lamborghini.

The R8 is powered by a 4.2 L V8 engine which forces out 420 bhp/7800 RPM. The V10 Gallardo churns out 520bhp / 8000 RPM.

No prizes for guessing which model wins the 0-100. However, the R8 is not built to be a competitor to the Gallardo, but to complement it. Let me explain.

The Gallardo was designed prior to conceiving the R8. Audi-owned Lamborghini had in mind an entry-level supercar that would not only be fitted with a powerful engine, but handling and chassis practical enough for street usage.

Thus the Gallardo was born. It however, was still too powerful and unrefined, and in the upper echelons of the supercar status. Audi then decided to come up with a coupe that was ‘civilized’, luxurious & refined, yet powerful.

Think the Porsche, BMW categories.

That’s where the Audi R8’s Quattro All wheel drivetrain comes in.

Normal AWD systems work this way: The torque-sensing centre differential delivers around 40% of torque to the front axle and 60% to the rear.

Audi’s new Quattro AWD is able to send part of this torque to the individual rear wheels almost instantly (less than 100 milliseconds) if it detects any loss of traction.

This, of course, results in excellent handling.

The R8 is also constructed using the Audi Space Frame (ASF) technique.

ASF is a high-strength aluminum frame structure into which the panels are integrated so that they also perform a load-bearing function.

In conjunction with high-strength aluminum sheet, the aluminum body is characterized by exceptional stiffness and above-average crash protection, yet at the same time by substantially lower weight.

Basically one is getting an Italian designed supercar with the exotic looks, flair and luxury but state of the art German engineering and technological advancement.

So who cares if it looks like the Gallardo?