Audi R8 GT unveiled

The R8 GT is lighter, more powerful, faster at 320km/h and even quicker in a 0-100km/h sprint, which it destroys in just 3.6 seconds. Of course, it also promises to be even costlier than the $341,900 R8 V10 quattro that currently sits at the top of the Audi pricelist in Australia.

Production of the R8 GT is limited to just 333 cars but it's an all-out effort in everything from the engine bay to the aero kit. There are lashings of carbonfibre, which helps to trim 100 kilograms from the bottom line as well as making the car more desirable.

The V10 FSI engine is upgraded to 412kW, an improvement of 26kW with torque also up 10Nm to 540, and the cylinder heads are painted red - something done in the past by Ferrari.

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"Yes, the R8 GT will be arriving on our shores, but the timing is still to be confirmed," says Roxane Persehais of Audi Australia. "With limited production of 333 vehicles, a small number will be heading our way. It's to early to comment on price estimates."

The weight-loss work on the R8 GT is extreme, running to a thinner windscreen, polycarbonate in the rear hatch, a fixed rear wing, as well as thinner sheetmetal and extra cut-outs in the bonnet. The rear engine cover is made from carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, with a rear bumper and the sideblades of the same material.

But the weight-loss work has not cost the car its aircon, or MMI computer system, or its Bang & Olufsen sound system. Audi says extra tweaking in the wind tunnel means more downforce without a drag penalty, thanks to a carbon-fibre front splitter and 'flics' at the corners of the nose.

Special 19-inch alloy wheels are unique to the R8 GT and there are, inevitably, GT badges on the front guards, and a numbered gearknob.

Mechanically, the GT only comes with Audi's R-tronic manumatic six-speed gearbox, while carbon-ceramic brakes are standard and the ESP stability control can be deactivated for track use.

For R8 GT owners who want to go all the way there is a special race package with a rollover bar, harness seat belts, a fire extinguisher and kill switch for the electrical system.