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All-New Audi R8 Officially Teased: Standard LEDs, Laser Beams Optional

Audi has released the first official teaser photo of its all-new performance flagship, the R8 sportscar that's expected to drop at the Geneva Motor Show 2015. The big talking point here is the design of the headlights, which seem a lot more sophisticated than in our spy photos and that leaked prototype spotted a week ago.
2016 Audi R8 5 photos
Photo: Audi
2016 Audi R8 Headlights2016 Audi R8 Headlights2016 Audi R8 Headlights2016 Audi R8 Headlights
Audi has announced that its new R8 will come as standard with LED headlights that feature 37 individual diodes, which is a lot more than you get with an A8. At extra cost, customers will also be able to order the laser high-beam headlight that has already been presented on the limited-edition R8 LMX.

Without going too much into detail, Audi said that each headlight unit will feature 4 high-intensity laser diodes which focus their power into a phosphor converter. This turns the blue light produced by the laser into pure white light that our eyes need.

Other details were not mentioned, though the R8 is one of the most widely discussed Audi projects ever. The most recent reports indicate that the base 4.2-liter V8 may have been dropped from the range and will eventually be replaced by some sort of downsized turbo mill. So the Geneva-bound car is likely going to be shown with a 5.2-liter V10 making somewhere between the 570 PS of the LMX and the 610 PS of a Lamborghini Huracan.

The R8 is also going to be the first model offered by the Ingolstadt to go pure-EV. The e-tron project has been revived and should make its appearance felt within a year, with a new type of battery that offers up to 400 kilometers of driving range.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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