---
title: "Audi R8 Getting a Cheaper V6 Variant, Report Says"
description: "Despite recent news that Audi may not be building a successor to the current R8, a new report suggests that the current car's imminent facelift will come with a cheaper, smaller-engined model."
date: "2018-03-19"
modified: "2018-03-19"
authors:
  - name: "Chris Tsui"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/chris-tsui"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/19378/audi-r8-getting-a-cheaper-v-6-variant"
categories:
  - "Audi News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Audi"
  - "Audi R8"
  - "Coupe"
  - "German Cars"
  - "R8"
  - "Supercar"
  - "Supercars"
  - "Volkswagen Group"
---

# Audi R8 Getting a Cheaper V6 Variant, Report Says

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/r8150087_medium-e1521459374787.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

In spite of recent news that Audi [may not be building a successor to the current R8](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/19280/audi-has-no-plans-for-a-third-generation-r8-report-says>), a new report suggests that the current car's imminent facelift will come with a cheaper, smaller-engined model.

According to [*Autocar*](<https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2018-audi-r8-lower-priced-29-litre-v6-variant-join-facelifted-range>), Audi is preparing to stick a 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 in the middle of [the R8](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/11431/2017-audi-r8-spyder-review-audi-weaves-a-stylish-web>) along with tweaks to the supercar's exterior. Also found in Audi's RS5, the [RS4 not sold in America](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/14258/this-is-the-450-horsepower-2018-audi-rs4-avant-america-cant-have>), as well as the Porsche Panamera, the six-pot here produces around 440 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. As of right now, the R8 exclusively comes with a 5.2-liter, naturally-aspirated V-10 making 540 horses or 610 in the upmarket Plus guise.

Just like the V-10 unit, the British auto publication reports that the V6 will come with multiple power configurations. Around 440 horsepower in the base model and close to 500 ponies in a "V6 Plus" sounds like a pretty good guess.

Audi historians will note that the original R8's "entry-level" variant rocked a naturally-aspirated, 4.2-liter V8, an option that's been missing from the current car's spec sheet since it came out in 2015. According to "Ingolstadt officials" speaking to *Autocar*, an eight-cylinder R8 hasn't been a thing (and likely won't be) thanks to tightening emissions regulations and the challenge of trying to sell it in the oh-so-important Chinese market, where cars with more than 4 liters of displacement are hit with a hefty road tax.

*Autocar* projects the V6 R8 to get a starting price of less than $140,000 which would put it in direct competition with Porsche 911 variants [GTS-and-under](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/10551/2018-porsche-911-carrera-gts-test-drive-not-just-another-package-deal>).

We've reached out to Audi for further comment and will update this story if we hear back. The current, V-10-equipped [2018 Audi R8](<https://thestore.thedrive.com/>) starts at $164,900.

## Author
Chris Tsui is *The Drive*'s former Reviews Editor and current freelance automotive journalist. He's based in Toronto.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/cltsuii/>)