Posted Dec 28th 2012 10:15AM
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It was about a month ago that we first heard rumblings of a new Audi supercar that would borrow generously from the firm's Le Mans racers. At the time, Audi R&D chief Wolfgang Dürheimer was telling Auto Expressthat it could be a big seller if it were a diesel hybrid, and that not only would it sell well but it would be a match for coming vehicular royalty like the McLaren P1, Ferrari F70 and Porsche 918. Auto Expressspeculated carbon fibre construction and numbers like 700 horsepower, 737 pound-feet of torque and a top speed beyond 200 mph (322 km/h).
About a week ago that was updated by a report that the supercar would be unlike the R8 and, naturally, be state-of-the-art in the technology department. Now Automobile has chimed in with a deep-dive report on the supercar that has the project name of R20. To demonstrate its connection to Audi's Le Mans cars and distance itself from the R8, the report claims it will look like "a street-legal LeMans racer," meaning vertical LED headlights, "ventilated front and rear wings," the one out back being adjustable, and a tailfin running from the cockpit to the rear end.
Power would come from a diesel-hybrid setup built around Audi's twin-turbo V6, with 550 hp from the engine and a further two 75-hp electric motors turning the front wheels. The interior would also go state-of-the-art, with a black-panel instrument cluster, active contour seats, cameras taking the place of mirrors and an old-fashioned four-point harness for that racerly feel.
Automobile believes the R20 could be shown at Pebble Beach in 2015 and go on sale in 2016, but be limited to 150 or 200 units.
