Audi R8 GT3

All shall return from whence it came: ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and race cars to race cars. Audi first affixed the R8 nameplate to a race car and used that car to dominate the 24 Hours of Le Mans early this century, with outright wins in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. Then the R8 came to showrooms as a sexy, curvaceous, mid-engine exotic with which Audi unseated the Porsche 911 Turbo in its first comparison test. Now, the production version of the R8 is headed back to the track, intent on expanding the R8’s dominion into the GT3 class of endurance racing.

Crouching low on a suspension Audi says is “almost exclusively components from the production line,” the GT3 adds a heap of menace to the soft, feminine shape of the R8 with a chipmunk-guillotine front splitter, waterfall hood, stretched front fenders, wider intake scoops in the car’s signature “sideblades,” and a wing that looks sized for sunbathing. By Yao Ming. The powerplant has yet to be confirmed, the only certain detail being that it will produce more than 500 horsepower.While street-going R8s all boast all-wheel drive, FIA rules mandate that GT3 competitors be rear-wheel-drive only, so the R8 loses its front prop shaft—and, no doubt, a couple hundred associated pounds. The track-only car, built by Audi Sport and quattro GmbH, will undergo testing at GT3 races in the upcoming season and will be available to private customers in the fall of 2009.http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/08q4/audi_r8_gt3-car_news