Looks Like The Audi R8 Isn’t Coming Back After All

Our ears were pricked up last month with rumours that the Audi R8, which looked like it was dead for good after the second generation went out of production last year, could in fact make a comeback. After all, we’d always be happy about another supercar seeing the light of day.

Sadly, those rumours were just that, and they’ve now been seemingly silenced by Kjell Gruner, the new CEO of Volkswagen Group America. Speaking to media, including Motor1, at the New York Auto Show, he said the R8’s potential return is dependent on “what’s viable in the market,” and went on to say: "A mid-engine, internal combustion engine vehicle, I don't see that on the road map."

Rumours of the R8’s comeback were first reported by Autocar last month, with unnamed sources saying that it had the backing of Audi CEO Gernot Döllner. The third generation was reportedly going to be a plug-in hybrid based on the new Lamborghini Temerario.

Of course, the first two generations of R8 shared plenty with the junior Lambo supercars of their day – first the Gallardo, then the Huracan – so it’s little surprise that an R8 revival was rumoured to be based on the latest car in that lineage.

The new model was said to share the Temerario’s aluminium spaceframe platform as well as its plug-in hybrid powertrain, which consists of a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 powering the rear wheels and a trio of electric motors – one on the rear axle, two on the front.

In the Lambo, that makes for a peak power output of 907bhp (although faster, harder versions are thought to be in the works). The original report, though, reckoned that the purported third-gen R8 would have been more of a rival to cars like the Mercedes-AMG GT and Porsche 911, with more of a focus on day-to-day usability – a similar remit to the original car from 2007.

That’s all academic, though, if Gruner’s comments are anything to go by. Of course, they don’t entirely rule out a new Audi flagship – if it does appear, though, it likely won’t be powered by a mid-mounted combustion engine, and therefore won’t look much like the R8 we know and love.