The most powerful Audi ever: Special Edition “selection 24h” Audi R8 Coupé V10 plus

The Audi R8 LMS won the 24 Hours Nürburgring on its debut last year. Marking the beginning of a successful year of motor racing, Audi Sport now celebrates the R8 LMS with the “selection 24h” special edition – a homage to its tally of 323 wins in national and international races since 2009. In the Le Mans 24hrs alone, Audi has 13 overall wins in the past 15 years, with the first five of these won by the R8 sports prototype.

The “selection 24h” has a limited production run of 24, and is based on the Audi R8 Coupé V10 plus. Its 5.2L V10 mid-engine develops 610 hp and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. With a top speed of 330 km/h, this is both the fastest and most powerful Audi of all time.

Audi developed the second generation of the R8 at the same time as the GT3 racing model R8 LMS, with close cooperation between race car engineers, motorsport specialists and developers, giving both models a significant boost in performance. The suspension, aerodynamics and virtual cockpit are all motorsport-inspired and a newly developed quattro drive distributes power fully variably between both sets of wheels.

The light weight of the Audi R8 Coupé V10 plus (1,454 kgs) is a result of multi material construction combining aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) which opens up entirely new dimensions with regard to weight, rigidity and crash behaviour.

The front spoiler, the exterior mirror housings, the engine compartment cover, the rear wing and the diffuser are made from gloss-finish carbon fiber. The same applies to the sideblades with matt-finish “R8 24h” logo. The tailpipes of the sport exhaust system feature black trims and the 20-inch forged aluminium wheels in 10-spoke Y design are painted gloss anthracite black.

There is full-leather upholstery on the inside with rotor gray trims and Alcantara headlining. The air vents and the extended inlays for the surround of the Audi virtual cockpit are made of gloss-finish CFRP. The illuminated door sill trims are also made of gloss-finish carbon and display the serial numbers 1 to 24 for each of the limited-edition cars; while the entry lights on the doors project the Audi R8 logo onto the road surface.

The technical package in the “selection 24h” comprises dynamic steering, the adaptive damper control system Audi magnetic ride and Audi laser lighting. The tricolour paint finish has Suzuka gray as the basic color, with mythos black and Misano red highlights.

The Audi R8 “selection 24h” will be on view to the public for the first time at the AUDI AG presentation area in the paddock at the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Orders for the special model can be placed from May 10, 2016.

The price? This one would set you back by EUR 229,000 in Germany. Worth it for the bragging rights, considering you would be one amongst the two dozen to own it.