2016 Audi R8 technical specifications revealed [Update - First image leaks]

26/02/2015 - 00:42 Audi R8, Audi, 2015 Geneva Motor Show Shrawan Raja

Update 2 - What appears to be a press image of the new Audi R8 has been leaked by Autofilou.

Update 1 - Audi today released a video showing the new R8 testing on a race track, driven by factory driver Frank Stippler.

[Can't see the video above? Head to Youtube.]

Is significantly lighter, faster and quicker.

The European media has been taken as a passenger for a few hot laps around a race track on the 2016 Audi R8 which premieres at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Audi has also provided the attendees with some technical specifications.

2016 Audi R8 front test mule — While the 2016 Audi R8 retains the same engine, it develops 15 bhp and 59 bhp more than its standard and V10 Plus predecessors respectively.

The second-gen supercar features a revised 5.2-liter V10 naturally aspirated engine that produces 601 bhp @ 8,150 rpm and 559 Nm @ 6,500 rpm on the V10 Plus, and 532 bhp @ 8,000 rpm and 539 Nm @ 6,500 rpm on the regular model.

It is mated to a standard seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that ditches the viscous-coupling-equipped syncro four-wheel drive system for an electro-hydraulically operated multi-plate clutch.

2016 Audi R8 front three quarters test mule — The new model is 66 kg lighter and the V10 Plus is 0.3 sec quicker to 100 kph than the current version.

The top-spec R8 V10 Plus accelerates to 100 kph from naught in 3.2 seconds (0.3 sec faster than the current model) and hits a top speed of 330 km/h (13 km/h higher).

The new aluminium-carbon chassis helps the new R8 get 15 percent lighter (66 kg) and 40 percent stiffer, and the driver sits a little bit deeper in the car. The weight distribution is 42% at the front and 58% at the rear.

2016 Audi R8 rear three quarters test mule — The car is built on a new aluminium-carbon chassis that makes it 40 percent more stiffer.

The 2016 R8 measures 4,444 mm in length, 1,944 mm wide (+39 mm) and 1,241 mm tall (-9 mm) and tips the scale at 1,454 kg which is 66 kg lighter than the predecessor (for the V10 Plus variant). The car is mounted on 19-inch wheels wrapped with 235/35 ZR19 front & 295/30 ZR19 rear tires and can be optionally bolted with 20-inch alloys shod in 245/30 ZR20 front and 305/30 ZR20 rear tires.