The car was exclusively designed, developed, and manufactured by AUDI AG’s high performance private subsidiary company, quattro GmbH, and is similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo. The fundamental construction of the R8 is based on the Audi Space Frame, and uses an aluminium monocoque which is built around space frame principles. The car is built by quattro GmbH in a newly renovated factory at Audi’s ‘aluminium site’ at Neckarsulmn Germany.
In 2005, Audi announced that the name of the successful Audi R8 race car would be used for a new road car in 2007, the Audi R8, based on the Audi Le Mans quattro concept car, appearing at the 2003 International Geneva Motor Show, and 2003 Frankfurt International Motor Show. The R8 road car was officially launched at the Paris Auto Show on 30 September 2006. There was some confusion with the name, which the car shares with the 24 Hours of Le Mans winning R8 Le Mans Prototype.
The Audi R8 is used as a safety car in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and British Superbike Championship racing series.
To produce the R8 at quattro GmbH, seventy workers fit 5,000 unique parts by hand. The factory at Neckarsulm, redeveloped at a cost of €28 million, usually produces between eight and fifteen cars a day, up to a maximum daily output of 29 cars. Ninety-five lasers inspect the entire car in five seconds to ensure that over 220 measurements are within 0.1 millimeters of the programmed plans.
The Audi R8 was initially equipped with a 4.2 litre V8 internal combustion engine. Specifically, it is an all-aluminium alloy 32-valve (four valves per cylinder) petrol engine, utilizing Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI), and has a displacement of 4,163 cubic centimeters . It develops a motive power output of 309 kilowatts , and generates 430newton metres of torque, on 98 RON ’Super Unleaded’ petrol. It is basically the same engine used in the Audi RS4, but is modified to use dry sump lubrication system. This V8 is a highly reworked, high-revving variant from the existing 4.2 litre V8, but includes cylinder-direct fuel injection (Fuel Stratified Injection), and four valves per cylinder, instead of five (as used on the previous non-FSI variants). It also uses two chain-driven double overhead camshafts percylinder bank, and utilizes variable valve timing for both inlet and exhaust camshafts.
