Audi launches updated R8 in India at Rs. 1.34 crore

If you want a luxury sportscar that draws as much attention as a Ferrari, the Audi R8 is one such car. The updated Audi R8 was launched in India yesterday, at New Delhi, at a price tag of Rs. 1.34 crore for the V8 coupe variant.

There are two more variants of the Audi R8 available – the V10 coupe priced at Rs. 1.57 crore and the V10 Spyder convertible priced at Rs. 1.73 crore. The car is being featured in the new Bollywood film “Race 2” and hence had the star cast – Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Ameesha Patel in attendance.

The Audi R8 is a mid-engined car, powered by a choice of two engines. The base variant comes with a 4.2 litre V8 (8-cylinder) petrol engine putting out 430 bhp of power with a seven-speed automatic (S-tronic) gearbox. The V10 comes with a 5.2 litre 10-cylinder engine putting out 525 bhp of power. Audi claims a 0-100 kmph time of just 3.6 seconds for this and 4.3 seconds for the base V8 variant. Top speed is a claimed 314 kmph. These are all all-wheel drive cars, with Audi’s acclaimed Quattro system. Also read: Audi begins local assembly of Q7

The new 2013 Audi R8 is mildly refreshed visually. The most visible change is the full LED headlamps, which replace the earlier projector-LED combination. The trademark Audi daytime running lamps remain.

The R8 will be imported and sold as a completely built unit. Audi currently assembles the A4, A6 sedans and Q5 and Q7 SUVs at its plant in Aurangabad and is also plans to start assembling the Audi Q3 soon. It presently has about 25 dealers in the country and plans to increase that to 32 or so by end of 2013. It has sold over 9000 cars last year and has a target of about 10,500 cars this year. Going by the number of Audis seen on the road, it looks like Audi is on the right track. Also read: Audi Q5 road test and review