Audi Confirms Turbos in Future Editions of R8

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Future engines in entry-level Audi R8s will be inevitably turbocharged, Audi executives told Motoring (via Car and Driver).

Instead of replacing the 5.2-liter V10s found in the 2017 R8 standard and Plus models, the boosted V6 from the upcoming RS4 (or maybe a turbo five cylinder?) would slot below the naturally aspirated models.

“It is inevitable that we will go to a turbocharged motor for it at some point. It would be in this model cycle, to give us a fuller range,” Ulrich Hackenberg, who sits on Audi’s Board of Management as a technical director, told Motoring last month.

The standard V10 in the 2017 R8 already churns out 540 horsepower and the Plus edition creates 610 horsepower. Instead of any power gains, the turbochargers will likely be present to boost torque and deliver more of it at a lower end of the RPM range, Motoring speculates.

Already automakers such as Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Nissan offer turbocharged versions of their cars with more twist than the 413 pound-feet offered in the R8’s V10. The 911 Turbo (486 lb.-ft. or 523 lb.-ft.), AMG GT S (479 lb.-ft.) and GT-R (463 lb.-ft.) all have force-fed engines.

According to the report, the current-generation R8 that will go on sale in the United States next spring will get the turbocharged engine, but officials didn’t say exactly when it would make an appearance.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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