Audi Hands Over First R8 GT To Customer

ZETLAND, AUSTRALIA – April 20, 2011: The first of 333 Audi R8 GT vehicles has hit the road: a customer from the UK received the keys for his Phantom Black high performance sports car today at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm. The limited edition, top-of-the-line model of the R8 family is built in a production shop at the Neckarsulm site and was sold out worldwide just a few weeks after market launch.

The 412 kW R8 GT will be delivered to customers in 23 countries, primarily in Europe, the United States and Middle Eastern markets.

The R8 GT takes just 3.6 seconds to thunder from 0 to 100 km/h and 10.8 seconds to reach 200 km/h. This breathtaking performance is due in no small part to its systematic lightweight design. Its hand-built aluminum body featuring an Audi Space Frame (ASF) tips the scales at just 210 kilograms. With extensive fine-tuning and the use of carbon-fibre composites (CFC), the Audi engineers were able to reduce the weight of the high-performance sports car by 100 kilograms compared to the Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro.

The result is a curb weight of just 1,525 kilograms and an extremely sporty powerto- weight ratio of 270 kW per 1000 kilograms. The 5.2-litre V10 in the R8 GT now has an increased output of 412 kW. The mid-engine sports car never loses its composure as it delivers its power to the road via quattro permanent all-wheel drive and the lightning-fast shifts of its R tronic transmission. The Audi R8 GT has a top speed of 320 km/h.

This limited edition supercar further underscores its exclusive status with visual modifications to the interior and exterior, including newly designed bumpers in CFC and bucket seats with a chassis of glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP). Just 5 R8 GTs will make their way to Australia making it one of the most exclusive cars on the road.