Next-gen Audi R8 may get four-cylinder engine … We hope not

By Trevor Dermody March 10, 2014

audi r8 may get smaller engine hopefully 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The next-gen Audi R8 is due out in 2015 and will run on the same platform as the Lamborghini Huracán. To keep up the universe in order, both a V8 and V10 will be offered under the mid-body hood of the sleek German supercar, according to Autocar.

Audi techical chief Ulrich Hackenburg stated the brand is looking at smaller engines saying, “It’s a big step from 10 cylinders to four though – there are some numbers in between that we could look at.”
And to this I say, ”What? You’re right; that’s a big step!” A smaller engine is nice when I’m buying a daily-driver, but I want a supercar with an engine that mimics the sound of a furious lion being sucked through a jet engine.

Hackenburg justified his statement by saying engines with smaller capacity are desired in “other countries.” Well, I don’t know what countries this includes, but I certainly can’t think of one. And if the R8 is running on the same platform as the Huracan, I can just see the folks at Lamborghini gasping – and, honestly, giggling – at a four-cylinder supercar.

This isn’t to say I’m not all for fuel efficiency, but this is not the way to do it.

Hackenburg did give a glimmer of sanity in saying the R8 e-tron is back on the table. The e-tron was nixed last fall due to a lack of usable charge range, but Audi has apparently reworked the EV supercar and increased the range to around 450 kilometers, or about 279 miles. This may not seem like a lot, but realistically how many times are you going to drive a supercar 279 miles in one sitting?

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