AUDI R8 GT SPYDER COMES TO MZANSI

Following on the sold-out success of the Audi R8 GT Coupé, Audi South Africa is now introducing the Audi R8 GT Spyder on special order. Like the Coupé, the open-top version of the high-performance sports car is capped at 333 units scheduled for production 2012. Each car sports an individual number on the gear lever knob.
 

Audi R8 GT Spyder will be ordered on the basis of customer order only. Five units have already been ordered and are destined for arrival in March 2012.  

The new Audi R8 GT Spyder is available to order from the following Audi Centres; Audi Centre Pinetown, Audi Centre East Rand, Audi Centre Northcliff, Audi Centre West Rand, Audi Centre Menlyn, Audi Centre Hatfield, Audi Centre Sandton, Audi Centre Durban, Audi Centre Cape Town, Audi Centre Somerset West, Audi Centre Port Elizabeth and Audi Centre Bloemfontein at an all-inclusive retail price of R2 775 000. This price includes a 5-year/ 100 000km Freeway full maintenance and service plan.

The open-top flagship version of the high-performance sports car develops 412kW and accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds reaching a top speed of 317km/h.

Audi ultra-lightweight technology is the key to the R8 GT Spyder’s weight of just 1,640 kilograms. The Audi Space Frame (ASF) body, consisting of cast nodes, extruded sections and aluminum panels, accounts for just 214 kilograms of the total weight. The Audi R8 GT Spyder has shed 85 kilograms in the process.

Visual modifications accentuate the styling of the R8 GT Spyder. These include add-on parts in contrasting titanium grey, a front splitter with a dual lip, flics at the sides of the front bumper, red GT badges, round exhaust tailpipes, an enlarged diffuser and dark LED rear lights in a clear-glass design.

The R8 GT Spyder features a lightweight fabric soft top that is extremely quiet and fully suitable for highway cruising. Its electrohydraulic drive brings it up or down in 19 seconds, even at speeds up to 50km/h. The extendible glass rear window is nestled in the bulkhead, separate from the soft top. Integrated in the bulkhead is a rollover protection system comprising of two pretensioned plates.

Performance offered by the new top-of-the-line model in the R8 family is formidable. The 5.2-litre V10 with an aluminium crankcase draws its fuel from an FSI direct injection system. Dry-sump lubrication ensures a reliable supply of oil even under maximum lateral or straight-line acceleration. With its modified electronic management, the long-stroke engine produces 540Nm of torque at 6 500 rpm.

The R8 GT Spyder comes standard with an automated six-speed R tronic transmission with two fully automatic modes. In the additional manual mode, the driver can shift gears using the paddles on the steering wheel or by flicking the gear lever. At high load and revs, gear changes take only one-tenth of a second. The launch control program manages the starting sprint with high engine speed and precision-control of the tyre slip.

The quattro permanent all-wheel drive has a strong rear-wheel bias, granted by the axle load distribution. If the situation calls for it, the system sends additional torque to the front axle. In tandem with the limited slip differential at the rear, it provides an added measure of traction, stability and cornering speed, giving it a strong lead over the rear-wheel-drive competition.

Aluminium double wishbones locate the wheels, and the rack-and-pinion power steering provides intimate contact with the road. Taut tuning lowers the body by approximately 10 millimetres. The open high-performance sports car has 19-inch wheels. The large, lightweight carbon-fibre ceramic brake discs decelerate the car with supreme ease. The ESP stabilisation programme has a sport mode and can also be deactivated entirely.

STORY BY AUDI