‘Audi R8: The Last Lap’ Is An Emotional Tribute To The Outgoing Supercar

A special video has been put together to pay tribute to Audi’s R8 supercar. ‘Audi R8: The Last Lap’ was first announced a few weeks ago, with fans given a chance to shape how the video came out via Instagram, and now, it’s here for your viewing pleasure.

We get a broad spectrum of R8s to enjoy, starting, of course, with the OG 4.2-litre V8 R8 complete with a gated manual gearbox. Then, we move through the R8’s 17-year journey (can it really have been that long?) via the first R8 GT, the second-gen R8 Performance and finally the new R8 GT.

It’s an appropriately noisy eulogy for the car, sullied a little by Audi’s legal department, which seems to have insisted on a near-constant barrage of disclaimers flashing up at the bottom. Did we really need to be told that specifications of the original R8 GT, a car that hasn’t been sold for a decade, “may vary”?

In any case, it’s a touching way to send off what’s become an icon for Audi. It’ll be sad to see it go, but at least we’ve been able to see the ultimate expression of the car through that wild R8 GT which appears in the video. The new GT features a massive swan-neck rear wing among various other aggressive aero appendages, making it by far the angriest-looking production R8 ever seen. It develops 612bhp from its 5.2-litre V10, all of which is sent to the rear wheels.

As for any future R8, we can only speculate, because Audi hasn’t confirmed exactly what its future holds. It seems fairly certain there won’t be another one powered by combustion, but the name could be used for an EV. Audi is certainly happy to repurpose badges for very different kinds of models in the electric age, as evidenced by the TT, which is set to be reborn as an electric crossover.