The 2017 Audi R8’s topless variant, dubbed R8 Spyder, was showcased at the 2016 New York Auto Show this week. Amidst one of the busiest cities on this planet, the R8 Spyder was competent and gorgeous enough to not only raise many people’s eyebrows, but also tempt them to appreciate its carbon fibre space-frame body structure. The R8 Spyder’s body uses A-pillars and windscreen surround to compensate for the lack of a roof structure. Removing the top, along with few changes in the vehicle, has reduced the overall weight by 113 kg, while still maintaining Quattro (AWD) technology. Sweet, eh?
The R8 Spyder is now shorter, but at the same time wider and more attractive. Power comes from a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 petrol engine, with some magnificent figures of 540 HP and a healthy Torque of 540 Nm at 6500 rpm. Through a standard 7-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch gearbox and hydraulically operated multi-plated clutch, you can propel the R8 Spyder from standstill to 100 kmph in just 3.6 seconds. That’s probably faster than the time you’ll take to click a selfie with the car!
Now, if you’re on an open country road in the US, which is straight down for the next few kilometres; all you gotta do is stomp the pedal on the floor and watch your Spyder’s speedometer reach a monstrous top speed of 318 kmph.
The cabin has an array of controls that makes it similar to the Millennium Falcon. These include a multi-function steering wheel, an MMI interface and a smartphone integration system. This feature is already available with the Coupe variant, and you can expect it to land in the topless variant pretty soon. Now, when you own a supercar of an R8’s calibre, I don’t think saving fuel will be your primary concern. Even then, if you’re the eco-friendly person (and you should be!), the R8 has a feature that idles the engine on a tail throttle and helps in contributing to a 10% enhancement in the combined-cycle fuel consumption and obviously a reduced value of CO2 emissions. Don’t worry, though! There is no compromise with performance whatsoever. You will have all the power and torque available at your feet whenever you want to attend a booty call.
This monster is priced at $164,150 (~ Rs. 1.1 crores) if ever you plan to go out shopping in the US.
Image source: Autoblog
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