The electric successor of the Audi R8 turns out to have slowed down.
The German automaker has revealed that a battery-powered supercar is coming, according to foreign reports.
Between 2015 and 2016, Audi produced an electric R8, known as the R8 E-Tron, in numbers.
However, the style was discontinued in October 2016 due to its value of 1 million euros (1. 55 million Australian dollars today). Reports at the time claimed that less than a hundred had been built.
In December 2021, Audi Sport’s head of product marketing, Linda Kurz, told CNET’s Roadshow that the German automaker would make its high-performance cars bearing the “R” badge over the next decade.
While reports at the time indicated that this would come with a low-slung electric supercar to update the petrol R8, the prestigious American publication Car and Driver now claims that the style may be absolutely irrelevant.
At a launch event for the Audi R8 GT, Car and Driver said through an Audi spokesperson that the company will not present an electric successor to its flagship supercar.
“Rumours suggest that an electric supercar called the RNext is in the works, but those plans are dubious and an Audi spokesperson denied those rumours to Car and Driver,” the report said, adding: “Even if this comes to fruition, such a vehicle is most likely to arrive until 2029 at the earliest. “
In June 2021, Audi announced plans to end production of petrol and diesel engines in the maximum number of countries until 2033, and all new models introduced from 2026 are expected to be exclusively electric.
With that timeline in mind, Audi is expected to launch a third-generation R8 within the next 3 years if the supercar were to continue with gasoline, a prospect given that production of the existing car’s 5. 2-liter V10 is expected to end within the next 18 months.
According to Audi’s annual financial reports, more than 42,500 examples of the R8 have been produced since its debut in 2006.
The first-generation Audi R8 was introduced in 2006, first powered exclusively by a 4. 2-liter V8 engine, followed in 2009 with the arrival of the 5. 2-liter V10, shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo of the time.
A second-generation Audi R8 entered production in 2015, with all examples powered by the 5. 2-liter V10.
The Audi R8 GT was revealed in October 2022 as a shipment of the supercar, the newest limited-edition variant not coming to Australia.
In September 2021, Audi announced that the edition of the V10 engine presented in Australia and some markets, which differ from those sold in Europe and elsewhere with stricter regulations on emissions and noise, would no longer be in production at the Hungarian plant.
While engine configuration for other markets was available, local niche sales of the Audi R8 likely contributed to the company’s resolve to keep it in the Australian lineup.