The Audi R8’s V10 engine is a robust power plant that delivers the acceleration that super car enthusiasts crave. Here’s a closer look at the engine by the numbers.
5.2
The engine has 5.2 liters of displacement. According to Wikipedia, “Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers.”
10
The engine has 10 cylinders in a v-shape layout. That’s how it gets its “V10” designation. Traditionally, modern passenger cars have four, six, or eight cylinders.
15
All Audi R8s are built on an assembly line at Böllinger Höfe, near Neckarsulm, Germany. The line assembles approximately 15 R8s per day.
Photo courtesy of Audi AG
88.3
Each of the 10 cylinders has a piston. Each piston travels approximately 88.3 feet every second. Altogether, the pistons cover more than 600 miles in an hour. That’s about as fast as a domestic commercial aircraft can fly and faster than the pistons in Formula One cars.
1 – 6 – 5 – 10 – 2 – 7 – 3 – 8 – 4 – 9
This is the firing sequence of the cylinders of the R8’s engine. This is what gives the car, “a hissing tenor exhaust note that builds to a crescendo,” according to Audi.
50
According to Audi, “The Audi R8 race cars share more than 50 percent of their parts content with the road-going models (60 percent comparing the GT4 to the road car), including their Audi Space Frames and V10 engines. The only structural difference between the road car and racecar is a mounting point on the frame for hydraulic lift struts to simplify pit stops.”
Photo courtesy of Audi AG
90
The 5.2-liter V10 engine is situated in a 90-degree position. This means that its pistons are 90 degrees apart. The position traditionally results in good balance.
413
The U.S. spec of the engine delivers 413 pound-feet of torque at 6,700 rpm.
602
Pressing the R8 to its limit, in the U.S. version of the car, the engine will achieve a maximum 602 horsepower at 8,100 rpm.
6,213
In many of the R8 race car models, Audi recommends servicing the V10 every 10,000 km (6,213 miles) and completely rebuilding it every 20,000 km (12,427 miles).
33,000
More than 33,000 R8s have been sold throughout the world since going on sale in 2005.
1.97 million
The engine is assembled in Győr, Hungary, Audi’s largest engine plant. In 2019, the plant produced approximately 1.97 million engines and electric motors. Those engines and motors found their way into vehicles around the world.
Photo courtesy of Audi AG
No. 1
Audi’s R8 race cars have laid claim to five overall wins at the Nürburgring 24, four overall wins at Spa and class wins at Daytona, the Bathurst 12 Hours, Macau, and many other tracks across the globe. According to a release, “From its first race through April 2020, globally, racers in the R8 LMS GT3 have achieved 75 driver championships, 13 overall wins in 24-hour races and numerous other podium finishes.”
