The Audi R8 has already proven its athletic prowess to the other exotics in the market, so the only thing left to do was show it could also succeed in topless guise. Here at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi has taken the wraps off the stunning new 525-bhp, V-10-powered R8 Spyder, which is set to launch in Germany in the first quarter of next year.
For the R8 Spyder, Audi decided to go with an electrohydraulically operated soft top instead of a folding hardtop, in the interest of weight and space savings. This has certainly paid off as the Spyder loses no cargo space and outweighs the R8 5.2 Coupe by only 77 lb. The rear glass window is separate from the soft top and can be raised and lowered independently. The top, which pops out from under a vented carbon-fiber cover, can open or close in about 19 seconds and is operable at speeds up to 31 mph. As cool as carbon fiber is, its opaque nature unfortunately means the engine is no longer publicly displayed.
Also gone are the R8 Coupe's sideblades that normally appear aft the doors and enclose the vents that direct air to the engine's intake. But we believe this design element would've detracted from the Spyder's voluptuous lines. The front end's gaping intakes, set off by the R8 Spyder's trick full-LED headlight clusters, direct air through three radiators to dissipate heat.
Inside the cockpit is an abundance of soft Nappa leather, a sound system by Bang & Olufsen and Audi's latest MMI navigation system, all of which are standard. What's most interesting though are the cool new (optional) seatbelt microphones that tie into the hands-free Bluetooth system, making it possible to talk on the phone at highway speeds with the top down.
Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive and Launch Control is of course standard on the R8 Spyder as it is on the Coupe, but a 6-speed gated manual or optional 6-speed paddle-shifted manual transmission (R tronic) can be specified.
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