Photo: Audi
The rumor mill is filled with foul-tasting speculative reports that never pan out. However, once in a while, an idea comes along that's so amazing, so outlandish that we simply have to report on it. The Audi R10 fits that description perfectly, a supercar to rival Ferrari's best from the same company that makes ordinary executive saloons.
According to the Swedish edition of Auto Motor und Sport, Audi is working on a supercar to sit above the R8 in the range. This would be called the R10 and offer performance and pricing to rival that of the recent roster of hypercars (McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder).
Styling inspiration for the R10 would come from the world of motorsport, more specifically the Le Mans winning R18 e-tron quattro prototype. Long speculated to use a diesel V12 powertrain like the R8 TDI concept from a few years back, this Audi performance flagship is now supposedly being engineered to run using a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V10 that develops 850 PS. Under light loads, this powertrain will conserve fuel by running like a V6.
We would argue that such an engine doesn't exist at this moment and it would be financially unviable to develop one from scratch. But you guys already know that.
This never-before-seen, completely untested V10 Ferrari killer is said to be ready for launch by 2016, when strictly limited numbers will be built. As crazy as that might sound, it's not totally unfounded. In December 2012, quattro division director Franciscus Van Meel openly talked about a model called the R20, which he described as a street-legal, diesel-powered Le Mans machine with production expected to be in the region of 100 to 250 units.
Styling inspiration for the R10 would come from the world of motorsport, more specifically the Le Mans winning R18 e-tron quattro prototype. Long speculated to use a diesel V12 powertrain like the R8 TDI concept from a few years back, this Audi performance flagship is now supposedly being engineered to run using a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V10 that develops 850 PS. Under light loads, this powertrain will conserve fuel by running like a V6.
We would argue that such an engine doesn't exist at this moment and it would be financially unviable to develop one from scratch. But you guys already know that.
This never-before-seen, completely untested V10 Ferrari killer is said to be ready for launch by 2016, when strictly limited numbers will be built. As crazy as that might sound, it's not totally unfounded. In December 2012, quattro division director Franciscus Van Meel openly talked about a model called the R20, which he described as a street-legal, diesel-powered Le Mans machine with production expected to be in the region of 100 to 250 units.
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