The Audi R8 RWD GT Says A Final Goodbye To The V10 Engine

Audi is to end all production of the R8 supercar in 2023 due to tightening emission laws and Audi is going out with a bang with the 5.2-litre v10 R8 RWD GT.

Electrification. A controversial word in the car industry at the moment, especially for any fans of big car engines like Audi's 5.2-litre V10 R8. Several manufacturers have already downsized their engines and added hybrid motors to match the previous engine power. 

Mercedes has ditched the 4.0-litre V8 on the C63 for a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid. The BMW M760Li is changing its 6.6-litre V12 from the previous model to a 3.0-litre straight-six with a hybrid motor. Lamborghini has ended the 6.5-litre V-12 Aventador after 11 years, with the following model to be possibly a V12 hybrid.

Audi is of course following suit with its own supercar, with them ending production on the Audi R8 in 2023 and replacing it with an electric supercar. They have already teased us with several concept cars like the Audi Grandshere, Urbansphere and Skysphere.

The death knells of the V10 engine

The V10 R8 bowing out is a significant hit to the car industry, as there are only two cars on sale in the current market with a V10. The Audi R8 and the Lamborghini Huracan. The R8 is being retired in 2023 and Lamborghini says the Huracan will be offered until 2024.

The five-cylinder Audi TT RS is said to be disappearing too, with a final 395bhp version called the 'Iconic Edition' to be released with just 100 models worldwide. And 11 of those models will be bound for UK customers.

The final roar from the Audi R8 V10

Audi is definitely going out with a bang and not a whimper with the final R8. It's called the Audi R8 RWD GT and it's Audi's most powerful rear-wheel-driven car. It's also Audi's most expensive production car that will be available to the public, costing around £200,000.

Just 333 of the vehicles are being made and just 15 of them will be arriving in the UK. This will make the 2023 R8 GT one of the rarest cars on the road, should you manage to get one.

It comes with a 5.2-litre V10 that offers 612bhp, an increase of 50bhp compared to the previous RWD model. Audi has managed to shave off 20kg of weight and they have tweaked the gearbox to allow for quicker shifts. 20kg less is no joke and every bit of weight counts for a sports car, with the R8 GT weighing in at 1,570kg.

With the added bhp, less weight and quicker shifts, the R8 GT will do 0-62mph in around 3.4 seconds and will have a top speed of 199mph. Audi has added ceramic brake discs, bespoke and lightweight 20-inch alloys and reinforced front anti-roll bars to keep the car steady during hard acceleration.

Controlling this monster car will be no joke and traction is always a concern with big engine rear-wheel drives. To account for that, Audi has added a new seven-stage rear traction control system. With the first setting rarely allowing for slippage under acceleration and setting seven letting the rear end fishtailing across the road like a rapid snake.

Audi's 'Torque Rear Drive' mode is also present and this distributes power automatically across the rear axle based on current road conditions, speed, weather, steering and ECU information. This means your R8 GT is constantly in safe hands (unless you can somehow turn it off!).

The final V10 R8 GT will have blacked-out badging, carbon trim within the interior, red seatbelts, lots of plush Alcantara dotted throughout and an inlay of the model number (1/333 for example) ingrained within the carbon fibre surround of the gear selector.

The future of the Audi R8?

As previously mentioned above, Audi plans to replace the R8 with an electric supercar that will be just as fast (if not faster). The electric supercar is on track to be revealed hopefully in 2024 and arrive in 2025 with a production model. 

According to Audi, the new electric supercar will reflect the R8's design philosophy. It will be a striking and eye-wateringly expensive two-door sports car with a more thorough manual build process.