The second-generation Audi R8 has been a long time coming but it’s almost here, and now we know what it will cost. Remember that for the new, 2017 model, Audi will no longer offer the more-affordable, eight-cylinder version. Instead, it’s V-10 only, so you might want to adjust your sticker-price expectations accordingly.
The price of entry for an R8 is now $164,150, for the base V10 coupe. That’s a pretty big jump compared to the outgoing, 2015 model (the R8 skipped the 2016 model year), which started at $117,150 for the V8 model. Comparing the V10 to the V10, we see that the previous version was available for $155,150?but that was with the six-speed manual transmission which, sadly, is no longer available. Looking at the 2015 V10 with the seven-speed S tronic, the starting figure was $164,150?exactly the same as the 2017 model. Audi might point out that the new car’s naturally aspirated, 5.2-liter V-10 now churns out 540 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, against 525 and 391 for the old car. The company claims the 2017 car is 143 pounds lighter than its predecessor and 40 percent more rigid. And yet, the factory-estimated zero-to-60-mph time is slower by a tenth?to 3.5 seconds?although the top speed increases from 195 to 199 mph.
New standard features include Audi’s 12.3-inch diagonal “Virtual Cockpit” configurable display screen in place of traditional gauges, and other new tech offerings include 4G LTE connectivity, Wi-Fi hot...