Audi considering turbo option for longer, wider Hurac?n-based R8

Mon, 10 Mar 2014

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracán was (and remains) big news in and of itself, but equally as exciting is the imminent arrival of the Audi R8, which the Huracán presages. While the two will share a common architecture, don't expect that new R8 will simply be a cheaper version of the Huracán (like the current one arguably is to the Gallardo).

For one, the next R8 will be larger than the Huracán. According to emerging intelligence, Audi will make its sports car both longer and wider than the Lamborghini version. It'll also share the new Lambo's innovative carbon-fiber structure that will replace both the firewall and central tunnel. But to power it all, Audi will get more creative.

The next R8 will, like the current model and like the Huracán, offer a V10 engine at the top of the range. It will also offer the same 4.2-liter V8 as the outgoing model. But that won't be the end of the matter. Word has it that Audi is also working on a smaller, turbocharged engine to offer in certain markets that mandate smaller-capacity engines.

Whether that will emerge as a turbo four, a turbocharged V6 or something else remains to be seen, but in speaking with Autocar, Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg indicated they could be looking at "some numbers in between", suggesting that a turbo five like the one you'd find in the RS3, RS Q3 or TT RS could be under consideration.

One way or another, it wouldn't be the first time Audi would toy with the idea of a different kind of engine for the R8. It's experimented with V12 turbodiesels and electric propulsion for the supercar, so a turbo five – or whatever it settles on – would hardly be a big surprise.

By Noah Joseph