The long-running Audi R8 went out of production last year, but it could soon make a comeback.
For nearly 20 years, Audi’s flagship performance coupe offered up an alternative to the closely related Lamborghini Gallardo and Huracán, if you wanted something less showoff-ish and more livable day-to-day. Sadly, though, the German automaker decided to kill it off — right after the two-door TT in 2023 — with an uncertain picture on what would replace the R8. Now, per an Autocar report, we have a better idea of what to expect with the brand’s next high-performance halo.
And what a difference a few years makes. Instead of Audi engineering an electric supercar to replace the outgoing, high-revving Lamborghini V10, they’re sticking to the tried-and-true formula with this next-generation R8. The new model, under the supervision of Audi chairman Gernot Döllner, will be a V8-backed plug-in hybrid based on — have you guessed it yet? — the Lamborghini Temerario. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
To be clear, Audi has not outright confirmed the new R8’s development details just yet. We’re learning some of the details as a byproduct of a reported agreement between the automaker’s board and Volkswagen Group, Audi’s parent company. That agreement aims to change up the previous “let’s go all-in on EVs” plan to extend certain internal combustion lines and pivot toward plug-in hybrids in the interim, especially when it comes to performance brands and iconic models.
In all seriousness, though Audi is backing off a headlong rush toward full electrification (as are so many other automakers), it isn’t playing around in resurrecting its iconic supercar. In fact, the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine at the heart of Lambo’s latest offering is a staple across VW Group’s entire range, and procudes 789 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque all on its own. Add three electric motors into the mix, and the Temerario’s output increases to a salivating 907 horsepower. And if you still thing Audi’s going all flower child by sticking a V8 its next-gen R8 rather than a V10, the 3.8-kWh battery onboard the Lamborghini only enables about six miles of fully electric driving. So there’s that.
For the moment, it’s obviously unclear whether the new Audi R8 will lift the same powertrain and performance figures lock, stock and barrel from its Lamborghini cousin. Nevertheless, that partnership, much like the R8’s past iterations, should make an all-wheel drive layout and 8-speed dual-clutch transmission a given for the third generation model.
Both Audi and Lamborghini are well-known for souping up their sports cars, too, so it’s reasonable to assume we’ll see the same with a new R8. If not at launch, a more potent version may arrive down the road with 1,000 horsepower or more. That said, there’s not quite as much headroom before you hit Revuelto power levels (1,001 horsepower), so I’m curious to see how hard Audi decides to push it this time around. At any rate, expect to see the R8 bring a 0-60 time under 3 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 mph.
While this report reinforces that a new Audi R8 is coming and that it will be pretty familiar to the past two generations as far as sharing components with Lamborghini, we don’t know exactly when it’s coming just yet. It’s possible the next-gen model will arrive sometime in calendar year 2027, depending on how far along Audi is in the development process. When it does arrive, though, we should see both coupe and spyder versions, as we have with the two past R8 generations.
