How does the Audi R8 get charged?
We haven’t heard anything significant about the Audi R8 in a while. The future prospects for the mid-engined Audi are grim. Hildegard Wortmann (Audi’s global chief for sales and marketing), confirmed that a new R8 was not on the horizon for 2021 .
“The R8 is an iconic symbol of our brand. However, icons from the past may not be the same as icons for the future. The R8’s successor will not be an R8 with an electrical motor. Wortmann said in an interview with Top Gear that it must be an R8 and different. One has to wonder if R8 will be the name of the next R8.
There is good news from Germany, however. Top Auto Bild reports that we can expect an all new R8 in 2023. Although they didn’t go into too many details, the publication did make some interesting predictions.
According to them, the 4.0-liter V8 engines will be used in the 2023 R8. It would mean the end of the naturally aspirated R8 era. The 4.0-liter V8 is equipped with a pair turbochargers that produce power from 453 horsepower (338 Kilowatts) up to 641 horsepower (478 Kilowatts). This engine can be found in a variety of Volkswagen Auto Group models from the Audi RS to the Lamborghini Urus.
Auto Bild predicts that the 2023 R8 will be powered by approximately 700 horsepower (515 kilowatts), and include some type of hybrid assistance. The publication also suggests that an all-electric version of the R8 is possible. Audi also tried a battery-powered R8 a few years back. The R8 etron, also known as the R8 e-Tron was not a huge success with only 100 units sold in its production run. Audi may be able to offer an electric supercar in the future, with EVs becoming mainstream.
Audi has not yet confirmed if the R8 line will be continued. We’ll need to wait for a while to find out if they do.