The R8 Soldiers On, Is Still in Production Even Though Audi Was Planning To Kill It

The sports car continues to roll off the production line at the Bollinger Hofe factory in Heilbronn, Germany, despite Audi planning the Last Lap to celebrate the 17 years spent on the market by the model. It was an exclusive event that put the R8 on the track at WeatherTec Raceway Laguna Seca last summer, driven by endurance racing legend and nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.

Audi also unveiled the R8 Last Lap, which came with a silver, black, and red livery, plus an Audi Sport-branded rear wing for the US market. Also, for the American customers, the R8 GT special version dropped in 2023 to just 150 units, with a price tag of $251,395.

Later on, Audi rolled out the R8 Final Edition, with an ultra-limited run of only eight units. The Ingolstadt-based carmaker seemed to pave the way for the R8’s retirement. But it seems that it enjoyed the spotlight so much that it just can’t step off the stage.

The Germans keep producing the model, according to a report published by Automobilwoche. The production of the roadster will continue through the end of March 2024 instead of ending in December 2023, as originally planned.

The electric Audi e-tron GT will continue to be built at the Bollinger Hole production center. Audi is marching towards electrification, and the V10-powered R8 fails to comply with the automaker's strategy. Its retirement has been planned since 2019.

But the sales figures caused the company's executives delay plans. Sales doubled in 2023 compared to 2022. The hype generated by the announcement regarding the retirement of the model probably made customers think they have one last chance to get a V10-powered Audi, with the R8 being the last of the Mohicans. 314 units were delivered last year in the United States.

Audi is not planning any successor to the R8, and the naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10, which also powers the Lamborghini Huracan, has come to the end of the line as well. Its days in production are numbered, with the end of March coinciding with the end of its career as well.

Meanwhile, with the development of Volkswagen Group’s Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), also designed for sports cars, the fans of the R8 can only hope that the model will soon make a comeback.

However, Audi can’t possibly forget that the electric R8 e-tron, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015, was a complete failure. The carmaker had planned a limited run of only 100 units. But not even those were eventually sold. No wonder, since it came with a price starting at one million euros ($1.11 million at the 2015 exchange rates).