Audi R8 to be reinvented as flagship electric supercar

R8 successor tipped to use Porsche platform; will follow mid-engine run-out model

- RACHEL BURGESS

Audi is readying an R8 successor for a mid-decade launch, which will reinvent the marque's famous halo model while also helping to reposition the brand as an electric forerunner.

The supercar has not yet been officially signed off but is very much under way, according to insiders. It won't be called the R8 and will take an entirely new design direction, so it won't resemble the long-standing model.

However, it will stay true to a pure sports car concept, with two doors and more power than anything else in the Audi range, albeit coming from an electric set-up.

The current R8 remains in production and a run-out model, expected to be a RWD GT, will be revealed later this year before all variants of the car stop being made at the end of 2023.

Talking about that specific model, Audi Sport boss Sebastian Grams said: "What we are trying to do is get as close as we can to that ultimate feeling of racing." He added that 60% of its parts are similar to GT3-spec cars.

The R8 is made alongside the E-tron GT and RS E-tron GT at the Audi Sport factory in Böllinger Höfe, Germany considered at the forefront of Audi's innovative production techniques - so the facility is already geared up to produce high-end electric models.

While Audi Sport expedites development of the R8 successor, the team responsible for primarily hand building the R8 will stay on at the factory after R8 production ends, allowing Audi to ramp up E-tron GT production.

However, it also means they will be trained and ready to start building the R8 successor within a couple of years, because Audi is keen for handbuilt elements to remain a feature of a new flagship sports car to reflect its position in the line-up and justify its expense.