Audi R8 GT3 spied

Feast your eyes on the meanest Audi in history! These are the first-ever pictures of Audi's hotly anticipated R8 GT3. Currently under development the striking machine will be sold officially as a race car.

However, homologation rules require a small number of road going versions to be made available. Codenamed the R16, and due on sale in 2009, the model will be powered by a 550bhp-plus V10 petrol engine, rather than the standard V8.

Audi is testing this car at the moment the Nürburgring circuit in Germany. The driver in our pictures is Touring Car ace Frank Biela who, in wet conditions and in temperatures of just 1,5 °C, returned a laptime of 8:41 minutes.