Audi R8 Spyder

Audi’s R8 supercar is ready to open up in Frankfurt. The highly anticipated Spider will be offered with the same 5.2-litre V10 from the coupe with 525hp and 530Nm of torque. That means 0-60mph in around 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 180mph – just a few mph down on the lighter coupe.

Our spy shots show the car during filming for the Robert Downey Jr film Iron Man 2, where you can see the LED headlights and larger exhaust tips taken from the V10 Coupe.

Elsewhere, the Spider differs from its coupe brother with the removal of the aluminium side blades, additional air intakes behind the seats and a pair of safety roll bars. Audi plans to begin sales of the Spider in late 2010 for about £105,000.

Rumours are also flying about Audi presenting an all-electric R8 in Frankfurt. Designed to take on the Tesla roadster, it’s likely to take the form of a dramatic concept car, similar in design to the head-turning Audi RSQ, which previewed the R8 in the sci-fi film I, Robot back in 2004.