Audi R8
The conceptual sport car Audi Le Mans quattro that was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in autumn 2003 and preceded the serial version of Audi R8 was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 2006. It is noteworthy that the Audi R8 is a case when the concept shown before the production of a model was virtually coincided with the serial model.

The production of this car became a landmark in the company because owing to this model the German company firstly entered the narrow segment of expensive supercars. “R8” is the new status of «Audi» and the demonstration of the successful company. This is the first time of the history of the company sport car has an experience of Audi gained because of numerous victories of motorsport with its revolutionary design and technology.
R8 design is outstanding: there are diode tapes of small lanterns in headlights, decorative panels on the sides of body.

Audi established a small record by the model R8 - all optical instruments of the coupe are light-emitting diode, including blinkers and brake lights. Light-emitting diodes have several advantages over incandescent bulbs: they work longer, consume less energy, take up less space and in general, have other technical standards.

The car body looks very compact. The width is 1.90 m, the length is 4.43 m, the height is 1.25 m, the wheelbase is 2.65 m. the front part and the smoothly curved roof are one swift line. The line passing above the wheel arcs and the shoulder line interconnect the front, the side and the back parts, single out door and the transition to the side air intakes, as well as emphasize the typical round the wheel arcs with the huge wheels.

The front part is singled out by the trapezoidal gitte Audi Single Frame, there are additional large air intakes on the right and the left of it. R8 is the first car of Audi that has the four rings on the hood above the gitte.
The design of a cabin kept the corporate style of «Audi». There is the expensive Alcantara leather without a hint at the carelessness inside of the car. The car design is distinguished by bright sport character: it is fully focused on a driver, sitting between the dashboard and the high center console. The central part of the dashboard is slightly turned to the driver. There are no unnecessary things on the dashboard. There are the large speedometer and tachometer, the fuel indicator and the coolant temperature gauge there. The “Nappa” leather-covered steering wheel is small with the sport diameter 365 mm. Its lower part is chamfered and it emphasizes not only the racing status of the car but also facilitates of getting in and out of the driver.

You will be glad to the seats with excellent lateral support. In addition the seats are not devoid of comfort and can be regulated in a very wide range. Overall the cabin of the car is so spacious it is very comfortable for two people in front owing to the width that is almost 1.5 meters at the shoulders.
Trunks of the cars (the front one and the smaller back one) are not large, however, a travel bag can be thrown in the back seats because they have no enough place for passengers. Bags and suitcases of various configurations as accessories are offered for more rational distribution of items.
The main trump of R8 is the diffuser bottom that is very similar in shape to the bottom of the cars of "Formula I». Its configuration is designed that as the higher speed as more rarefied air between the bottom and asphalt and as a result the car “stick” better to the road. The full aluminum body is constructed by the technology of Audi Space Frame (ASF).

The combination of the minimal weight and maximum hardness is necessary for the sport dynamic, as well as for the ratio of the weight and the power is to 3.71 kg per 1 liter. All important elements of the space frame that carry maximum loads are made of thin molding under pressure. Triangular aluminum levers of the front and the rear suspensions have powerful silent-blocks that are hidden in stainless steel cases, which are bolted by powerful bolts (also made of stainless steel) to the aluminum frame.

Everything is planned in details and checked down to the micron. Officially R8 is known as the central engine supercar. The atmospheric eight-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection FSI is located just behind the passenger seats. However because of the motor was shifted closer to the rear axle the front wheels have 44% of the weight of the empty car and the rear wheels have 56% of the weight of the empty car. A car driver and a passenger should sit in the car for ideal weight distribution. The 75-liter fuel tank is located exactly in the middle of the car in the safest place. The all-wheel drive system «quattro» was specially modified for the specific weight distribution of the supercar, so the character of the car became typically as rear-drive cars had: through the viscous clutch the front axle gets only 10-35% of power depending on the driving mode.

The car is equipped with an aluminum V-shaped 8-cylinder high-performance engine that is mounted in the central compartment of the space frame (ASF) designed specially by engineers of Audi. The maximum engine output is 420 PS and the maximum torque is 43.8 kg-m, it is achieved in the range of 4500 ~ 6000 r/min. Audi R8 can speed up to 301 km/h and from 0 km/h to 100km/h for 4.6 seconds. Now R8 is the fastest car that the German carmaker produces. There are two types of gearbox for the cars: 6-speed manual gearbox and the optional manual R-Tronic, which is a manual gearbox with manual and automatic switching, or simply speaking, the robotic manual gearbox.

The brakes are worthy of attention. 24 working pistons (eight on each front wheel) clinging to the huge brake discs, instantly stop the car even with the speed of 300 km/h. The R8 have four composite aluminum-based disks as the standard. You may order ceramic brake discs that easily withstand even hard racing and their resource is 300.000 km before changing. R8 meets all requirements of customers of that car class. There is the long list of standard equipment of R8: xenon headlights, rear lights with light-emitting diodes, the system of sidelights for the daytime, 18-inch aluminum wheels, an audio system with 7-inch display, the antitheft alarm and leather cabin.

The list of additional equipment is also impressive. Bang & Olufsen audio system with an output of 465 watts and twelve loudspeakers supply with three-dimensional sound. The car noise compensation system using microphones adjusts sound of the audio system depending on the road surface and driving speed. The park pilot system and the rear-view camera help the driver to maneuver in tight spaces. The modern radio and navigation system with a widescreen color display and keypad MMI combine exceptional functionality and the easy driving. Audi R8 is produced on the small-scale production line at the specially designed plant of Audi in Neckarsulm. The small group of masters of tuning shop Quattro GmbH is subjected to careful control of all parts and components of cars at each stage of production. This approach ensures all cars will meet the highest standards of Audi. R8 is the really great car. The civil sport car that has unique spark can give a lot of pleasure of driving.