Electric Audi R8 successor confirmed – UPDATE

UPDATE, December 16: Audi Sport boss Dr Sebastian Grams has said any future supercar from the company will use battery power, reaffirming comments made last week.

Speaking to Top Gear, Grams stopped short of confirming an R8 successor was in development by Audi, but ruled out an internal-combustion powertrain.

“Audi RS is following the fully-electric strategy of the main Audi company. This is [the plan] with our S and RS models,” he said.

“If we should build a new kind of super sports car, it will be electric. It follows our strategy, our vision, into a fully-electric future.”

The comments squash earlier rumours out of Germany suggesting the next-generation Audi would adopt the brand’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 powertrain.

While the R8 was dropped from the Australian line-up in September, a report from 2019 suggested the model is scheduled to end production in 2023.

3

The story to here

December 10: The Audi R8 successor will axe its internal-combustion engine for battery power, according to a company official.

Speaking to US publication Roadshow, Audi Sport’s head of product marketing Linda Kurz confirmed the brand’s next-generation supercar would be fully electric – but whether it’s called the R8 or something else has yet to be locked in.

Kurz was clear the company’s next halo car would be electric, positioned within the company’s performance R segment under the Audi Sport brand, with 80 per cent of the Audi RS line-up to be electrified by 2026.

In June, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann announced the German premium carmaker would only develop zero-emission powertrains from 2026, with the aim to phase out petrol and diesel models entirely by the early 2030s.

3

However, a report out of Germany in October suggested the 2023 Audi R8 could drop the model’s ageing V10 engine in favour of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 shared with the Audi RS6 and Lamborghini Urus. It’s possible the supercar could also adopt some level of hybrid electrification as a stepping stone towards an all-electric successor.

It’s not the first time the R8 has swapped petrol for electricity. In 2015, the million-dollar Audi R8 E-Tron entered limited production: fewer than 100 vehicles were manufactured with a 92kWh battery pack offering a driving range of 450km, delivering 340kW and 920Nm from dual electric motors at the rear axle.