Facelifted 2018 Audi R8 To Downsize Engine and Become More Affordable

In their bid to refresh the Audi R8, the German automaker has made the decision of giving the vehicle a smaller engine. The facelifted 2018 Audi R8 will house a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 engine that can be found in the Audi RS4 and RS5 and will produce power exceeding 500 horses and 500 lb-ft of torque.

The six-cylinder unit is a 90-degree engine jointly designed by Porsche and Audi as part of their approach toward creating a new engine series. The change is largely in effect due to the high costs incurred in updating the engine because of emission regulations and the high road tax which corresponds with the engine size in some countries like China.

Audi is trying its best to attract customers by creating affordable cars and we see its intent in the launch of a RWD version of the Audi R8 V10 (the R8 RWS). It is not confirmed yet if the facelifted 2018 Audi R8 will have a RWS variant, however, if this plays out, the costs for the customers will drastically decrease.

The current R8 is priced at $177,100 while the RWS version goes even cheaper. Hence, it will be no surprise if the V6 RWS could come under the budget of most buyers around the world.

Credit: Autocar