The retired Audi R8 will leave the assembly line next month

The sports car of the German brand is still in production, although it was assumed that the model will become part of history back in 2023.

Audi began producing the R8 two-door sports car in 2007. Despite its advanced age, the model changed generation only once – in 2015. The fact that the supercar will end its career in 2023 became known in the fall of the previous year. A little later, the company even presented a farewell version. However, it has now become known that the retirement date of the two-door has been slightly delayed.

In the photo: Audi R8 V10 performance RWD (version for the American market)

As Motor1.com reports, citing a representative of the German company Lisa Kellner, the Audi R8 is still in production. According to her, the last copy of the model will roll off the assembly line of the Audi Böllinger Höfe plant (Neckarsulm, Germany) at the end of the first quarter of 2024. This means that the history of the sports car will be completed next month. She also added that production of the all-electric Audi e-tron GT at this site will continue.

< p>The publication noted that the news of the imminent departure of the model encouraged wealthy fans of the model to buy: in particular, in the United States, sales of the sports car have approximately doubled over the past year — from 314 units in 2022 to 631 units sold in 2023.

Audi confirmed that the company currently continues to follow the strategy of “greening” models in all segments. As Kolesa.ru reported earlier, the Audi R8 will not have a direct successor. At the same time, the manufacturer still intends to release a successor to the sports car in 2025, but it, of course, will have all-electric technology and, most likely, a different name.

There is no official data on the “filling” of the future Audi R8 yet. According to preliminary data, it may be based on the SSP Sport platform with a flat battery located in the floor; the second option is the “trolley” on which the new “green” Porsche 718 will be based: its vertically oriented battery is located behind the backs of the driver and the only passenger. The prototype of such an “electric train” was shown back in the spring of 2022.

So far, the German company continues to produce the latest copies of the Audi R8 with an internal combustion engine. Let us remind you that the role of the farewell version is played by the Audi R8 Coupe GT RWD version: this rear-wheel drive sports car was equipped with a carbon aerodynamic body kit and a customizable drift mode. Under its hood is a 620-horsepower 5.2-liter V10 gasoline engine, and its maximum torque is 565 Nm. For comparison, the “standard” R8 Performance RWD naturally aspirated engine produces 570 hp, while the R8 V10 Performance Quattro coupe produces 610 hp.

At the end of last fall it became known that the production of the Audi TT two-door was completed after a quarter of a century on the assembly line. The latest example was released as part of a special event at the Audi plant in Győr (Hungary). It was the TTS coupe, equipped with a 2.0-liter gasoline turbo engine producing 320 hp. (400 Nm) and Quattro all-wheel drive system.