Audi R8 facelift revealed

Audi has unveiled the updated R8 for 2019 and it is now more powerful. There are no significant changes done to the 2019 Audi R8 except for minor mechanical changes and some styling tweaks, to keep up with Audi’s current family styling. The singleframe front grille, front air inlets, new front splitter, rear grille and diffuser are now wider. Under the bonnet, the air filter unit is housed under a new three-part cover – made of plastic or carbon fibre. The engines of the 2019 R8 are also equipped with petrol particulate filter to reduce emissions. Audi says that the R8 shares 50 per cent of the parts with the GT3 racer.

Changes are also done to the suspension to make the handling sharper. A CFRP and aluminium anti-roll bar unit at the front makes the R8 around 2kg less. The optional dynamic steering and the electromechanical power steering are also tweaked for more precision and feedback.

Audi has retained the naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 powerplant and tweaked it to extract more horses – the 2019 R8 makes 562bhp and 550.5Nm. Power is up by 29bhp over the outgoing model. The Audi R8 in Coupe form hits the 100kmph barrier in 3.4 seconds and the R8 Spyder takes 0.1 second longer than the Coupe. The current Audi R8 LMX on sale in India also makes 562bhp and it accelerates to 100kmph in 3.4 seconds.

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The R8 V10 Performance also gets more powerful with 612bhp and 580.3Nm on tap. That is a rise of 10bhp and 20.3Nm over its predecessor, the R8 V10 Plus. A titanium valvetrain is used in the engine of the Performance. The R8 V10 Performance races to 100kmph in 3.1 seconds. Due to the changes made to the electronic stability control, the braking distance from 100kmph and 200kmph to a standstill of the Performance model is also down by 1.5m and up to 5m depending on external factors, according to the company.

The MY2019 Audi gets 19-inch alloys as standard while 20-inch alloys are optional. Steel brakes are standard and ceramic brakes are offered as option. You also get to choose from three different exterior packages, where changes are made to the front splitter, side trims and diffuser. Audi will also offer to paint the rings and badges in gloss black if you wish. Two new paint schemes are also available for the R8 – Ascari blue and Kemora grey. There are no changes made to the interior.

Full specification and prices of the 2019 R8 will be out when the car is launched early next year. Audi dealerships in Europe will get the updated R8 in Q1 of 2019.