What do Claudia Schiffer, Heidi Klum and the Audi R8 have in common? Guys dream about seeing them topless.
Dream no more. The one you're most likely to disrobe is poised to drop its top. That's right. The R8 Spyder has been spotted running the 'Ring.
We got a hold of Audi, which gave us some inside info about the car we'll see later this year.
Spy shots of the car at the legendary Nurburgring are making the rounds. Audi spokesman Christian Bokich tells Wired.com nothing is official yet, but the Spyder will most likely have a proper cloth convertible top as opposed to a targa. Motor Trend says the car will sport a roll bar and air intakes behind the seats. Audi also will stiffen the chassis to maintain the R8's sharp handling, but the Spyder will lose the R8's slick aluminum side blades.
And get this -- Bokich says the Spyder will pack some serious heat in the form of a 5.2-liter V-10. The V-10 is Audi’s newest and sexiest plus-size model, pushing 525 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque. That would be damn sexy squeezed into Audi's tightest dress. You'll have the option of a manual or automatic gearbox.
Bokich confirmed the rumors we've heard about the car being offered with a standard V8 or the new V10. But he would neither confirm nor deny rumors that Audi will offer a “high-performance” (“hyper-performance” might be more appropriate) model sporting the 5.0-liter twin-turbo now found in the blistering RS6.
One thing we won't see is a Spyder with the awesome 500-horsepower 12-cylinder diesel that Audi stuffed into the R8 for the 2008 Detroit auto show. Too bad -- the thought of a convertible sporting 700-plus pound-feet of torque while getting 24 mpg leaves us weak in the knees.
So what will it cost? Bokich wouldn't say. We'll have to wait until the car's debut in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. For now, print out the pictures and hide them under your mattress. Heidi and Claudia are getting lonely.
Photo of the R8: Audi. Motor Trend has a pile of pics showing the R8 Spyder in action. Copyright laws and fair use preclude us from posting anything more than a snippet, so check 'em out over at Motor Trend.
