Cover blown on drop-top R8

Here's Audi’s sun-seeking supercar. Following on from our scoop shots in Issue 1,008, our spies have snapped these pictures of a barely disguised R8 Spyder testing at the Nürburgring track in Germany.

Despite the uninspired matt black paint job, the R8 Spyder loses none of the coupé’s stunning style, although the addition of a canvas roof means the signature ‘off-colour’ side blades have been sacrificed.

The Spyder’s side air-intakes are smaller to make room for the folding top, but extra openings are located behind the rear screen to help
boost performance.

The only part of the car that’s disguised is the engine cover. But we can reveal Audi’s styling chiefs have given the R8 Spyder the same see-through rear deck as the coupé to show off the V8 powerplant.

Of course, engineers are keen to ensure the soft-top R8 handles as well as its fixed-head counterpart, so the chassis has been stiffened to counter the effect of removing the roof. Roll bars have been added behind the headrests to improve safety.

Power comes from the 414bhp 4.2-litre V8 found in the coupé, while a 5.2-litre V10, due to debut in the hard-top at October’s Paris Motor Show, will appear in the Spyder later.

Performance from the V8 will be blunted slightly due to the increased chassis strengthening, so expect the drop-top’s 0-60mph time to be one or two tenths of a second slower than the coupé’s 4.5-second figure.

The R8 roadster is due to reach showrooms in the first quarter of 2009, and will be priced at just over £80,000.