It’s 5am on an industrial estate just outside the city of Heilbronn in southern Germany. Never let it be said that this job isn’t glamourous. And yet, despite the smokestack location, the day is set to be filled with fanfare.
It begins with a proper Stars in their Eyes moment, as the painted bodyshell of a Vegas Yellow Audi R8 rises up from the basement below and is then rapidly revealed by an overdramatic garage door. Just missing the smoke machines.
Of course, I wouldn’t be out of bed at this time to watch any old R8 get pieced together, but this is the last ever car. Yep, after two generations and 18 years of production, it’s the end of the road for Audi’s internal combustion-engined supercar. Over 45,000 examples have been built since its introduction in 2006, and while the name could possibly appear on a future flagship EV, the R8 as we know it is soon to be dead.
The factory is Audi’s small Böllinger Höfe plant. Although we say small there are still 41,000 square metres of production space and around 1,500 employees. The R8 has been built here since the place opened in 2014, but in 2020 the e-tron GT muscled itself onto the same line and ensured that the dominant sound in these halls is of tyre squeal on polished floors rather than the echo of V10s.
Speaking of engines, I’d assumed that the Lambo-developed 5.2-litre V10 would come straight from Audi’s plant in Hungary ready to be plugged in to the middle of the R8’s carbon and aluminium spaceframe, but stumbling across the engine room it’s clear that isn’t the case. In fact, over 100 extra bits need to be fitted to each engine before it’s ready to meet its chassis.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO
For as long as we can remember the Porsche 911 has been the default best sports car money can buy. Does the new Aston Vantage represent a changing of the guard?
BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO
In a world exclusive, three makers of the world's most powerful hypercars are cordially invited... to drive each other's creations
THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION
Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar's future, or gone mad?
Koenigsegg Jesko Attack
The Jesko Attack drives like a conventional supercar. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. But it doesn't accelerate like one.
STIC LAPS are back!
It's a 1.75-mile figure of eight on an old Canadian Air Force base just south of Guildford. Hardly Monza, or the Mulsanne straight, and never in a million years - you'd think a place that would become one of the most sought after performance benchmarks in the motoring world.
URBAN OUTWITTERS
Does the solution to city motoring lie in designs from the past with powertrains from the future? TopGear goes in search of answers... at rush hour
FUTURE FERRARIS
If you thought Ferrar's past was colourful, wait until you see what it's cooking up next. The future's bright, the future's rosso
DIRTY DOZEN
Ferrari's new super GT makes no secrets about what's under the bonnet, but can it swallow five countries in just a few hours? Better get on with it...
MYTH BUSTER
\"ADAPTIVE DAMPERS ALWAYS NEED TO ADAPT\"
The S2000 from a parallel universe
Meet Evasive Motorsports’ Honda S2000R, the car the Japanese firm should have built itself
