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(Wed 16 Sep 09) The Audi R8 is quite a dramatic car in both the forms that are currently on sale, but the two on display at Frankfurt this week are even more special.
One is the first convertible in the series. Called the Spyder, it's based on the 5.2-litre V10 Coupé (subject of a previous road test) but instead of that car's fixed roof it has a fabric hood which can be raised or lowered in 19 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph. The rear window isn't part of the hood, but is lowered into or emerges from the bulkhead as part of the same process. One feature which is definitely not available in the Coupé - and which Audi in fact claims as a world first - is a seatbelt microphone, allowing the driver to use a handsfree mobile phone even when travelling at speed with the roof down. Performance is inferior to that of the Coupé, but not by much. With a six-speed manual gearbox, the Spyder has a top speed of 194mph and can accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds. A six-speed, two-pedal, twin-clutch R tronic transmission is also available. The Spyder will be available to order from November and officially goes on sale in the UK in the first quarter of next year, priced at £111,955 for the manual and £117,155 for the R tronic.
The other R8 - or R8-like vehicle - at Frankfurt is called the e-tron. This one definitely won't be going on sale in the foreseeable future, but it certainly chimes in with the spirit of the age, as it's all-electric. A slow R8, then? Well, no. The e-tron in fact has four electric motors with a combined output of 313bhp, and although maximum speed is limited to 124mph the light weight of the car (caused by using plastic body panels on a spaceframe chassis) helps give it a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds, which is very close to that of the standard 4.2-litre V8. Each electric motor is responsible for one of the e-tron's wheels, and the distribution of power among them depends on what the software considers most appropriate, though generally it works out at roughly 30% to the rear and 70% to the front. Other important features are a heat pump (commonly used in buildings but never, until now, in a car) to provide interior heating which the electric drive system may not be able to supply, and "car-to-x communication" which allows the e-tron to "talk" to other cars, car parks, traffic lights and so on. Audi acknowledges that car-to-x cannot possibly work until a network of transmitters has been put in place, but reckons that "this obstacle is one that can be overcome, however, as nearly every carmaker in Europe, the USA and Japan has decided to develop a common standard for hardware and software. Once all new cars are equipped with this technology, a functional network of automotive transmitters will soon be available, at least in large population centres." |
