We’ve known for nearly five years that Audi has been planning to bring the curtain down on production of its R8 supercar, but now, the day has finally arrived: the last ever R8 has been built.
The final car rolled off the production line at Audi’s factory in Böllinger Höfe, Germany earlier this month, with Top Gear there to witness it. Finished in vivid Vegas Yellow, it was a Performance Quattro Edition coupe, meaning 612bhp from its 5.2-litre V10 driving all four wheels.
Audi R8 – front, static
However, it won’t be exercising that power much – rather than going to a customer, the final R8 is going straight into the hands of the Audi Tradition heritage department, where it’ll live a comparatively cushty life in a museum.
Production of the R8 was in fact planned to end last year with the bewinged R8 GT acting as a run-out special. However, in an ironic twist, the announcement that it was coming to the end of its life ended up extending it: demand shot up, and Audi produced the standard car for a few more months.
Audi R8 – interior
Now, however, it really is the end of the line for the R8, which was originally introduced in 2006 with a 4.2-litre V8 and four-wheel drive. In 2009, it gained the option of Lamborghini’s sensational 5.2-litre V10, which became the only engine choice with 2015’s second-generation car. 2017 saw the introduction of the limited edition RWS, the first production rear-wheel drive Audi. It would later become a regular option, and will likely remain Audi’s only rear-drive combustion-powered car.
No direct successor to the R8 is planned, although it’s long been rumoured that it’ll be spiritually succeeded by an all-electric halo car. For now, the Böllinger Höfe plant will only produce the Porsche Taycan-based e-tron GT. The end of R8 production also leaves the related Lamborghini Huracan as the last car being built with a V10, and that itself will end production in a few months.
Audi R8 – front, dynamic
So, a moment of silence for the R8. What began as arguably the most sensible supercar out there ended its life as one of the very last bastions of big displacement, naturally aspirated power, and we’ll miss it and its howling V10 more than ever as we increasingly enter the age of electrification and downsizing. It’s been a good 16 years.
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