Audi R8 Facelift Debuts With Cool New Design and 620 HP

We'll leave that question for Audi to ponder while we talk about the mid-life changes undergone by the Mk2 R8. First off, we have to get one thing clear: it's still powered by a V10 and only a V10, despite what the rumors have said. But both the regular and the performance models are more powerful and faster.

In the case of the standard R8, it now produces 570 HP, 30 more than before, while torque has also gone up by an insignificant 10 Nm. Thanks to the upgraded V10, the coupe will hit 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds while the roadster needs 3.5 seconds. Top speed sits at 201.3 mph (324km/h) or 200.1 mph (322 km/h), respectively.

Meanwhile, the R8 V10 performance quattro (replaces the V10 plus) now produces 620 HP and 580 Nm (428 lb-ft), an increase of 10 HP and 20 torque. This fastest quattro needs 3.1 seconds to reach the benchmark and stops at 205.7 mph (331 km/h). Obviously, the Spyder is slower, but only slightly.

Styling is subjective, but there's no way this isn't an improvement. They tried to tie in the front end design with the quattro by giving it three small opening under the hood line and also added those headlight grilles, as you get on the RS5. Also, the front end openings have been cleaned up and beefed up.

Meanwhile, the tail end of the car sports a giant black vent that extends to both corners. The diffuser is bigger, and so is the trim around some oversized oval exhaust tips. You can also order various components in carbon fiber. More minute settings include better stability control programming and three new settings for the R8 V10 performance quattro: dry, wet, and snow.