Audi R8

The Audi R8 is a mid-engine two-seater sports car produced by German automaker Audi in Neckarsulm from 2006 to 2024.

Audi built the road car around an aluminum space frame and based it on the Le Mans quattro concept car of 2003. It debuted as a coupe at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, followed by an open-top Spyder version in 2009. The car passed through two generations, the first built from 2006 to 2015 and the second from 2015 to 2024. A signature trait of the first generation was the contrasting vertical panel behind each door, which Audi called the sideblade. Assembly took place at the Böllinger Höfe plant under Audi Sport GmbH, with 44,430 cars built in total.

In the 2008 film Iron Man, the fictional billionaire Tony Stark drives an R8, which made the car widely known outside motoring circles. Customer racing teams entered GT3 and GT4 versions in international competitions, taking overall victories at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and the 24 Hours of Spa. At the 2008 World Car Awards, the R8 won both World Performance Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year. The second generation won World Performance Car of the Year again in 2016.

Early models used a 4.2-liter V8 engine producing 309 kW (414 hp). Audi later added a 5.2-liter V10, which developed 449 kW (602 hp) in the second-generation V10 Plus. That version reached 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds and had a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph). Audi completed final assembly of the model line in March 2024.