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The R8 was Audi’s first super sports car and the result of a cooperation with subsidiary Lamborghini A total of 45,949 units have left the Neckarsulm and Böllinger Höfe plants since 2007 The final particular model is a pinnacle: the R8 V10 GT RWD with rear-wheel drive A super sports car legend takes its leave: In its 17 years, the Audi R8 has captured hearts and celebrated just as many successes. After 45,949 units produced, the final R8 rolled off the line at Böllinger Höfe in March 2024. A look back at an unparalleled success story. Breathtaking design, a tantalizing engine sound, and driving dynamics like no other road-legal Audi ever offered: When it was unveiled in 2006, the R8 was a revolution – in Germany and around the world. A mid-engine super sports car; never before had Audi offered such a vehicle. With the R8, Audi moved into more exclusive segments previously dominated by brands such as Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. The Audi R8 was developed and built by the former quattro GmbH (today: Audi Sport GmbH). It immediately became the sporty icon in the company’s product portfolio and continues to contribute to the exclusive image of the Audi brand to this day. The R8 name refers to a successful race car that brought Audi more wins at Le Mans than any other manufacturer in history: In 1999, Audi launched its legendary Le Mans program with a sports prototype that started in the LMP900 class. The first name of this racing prototype was R8. It won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, making it the Le Mans sports car with the most victories in modern history. The prototype claimed more victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, a race in the USA, which it won every year from 2000 to 2005. With these victories, Audi increased its prestige in international racing and laid the foundation for the road-legal R8 super sports car.

Audi RS 3 LMS scores podium finishes in Italy Overall victory for the Audi R8 LMS GT2 in Spain Audi R8 LMS GT3 on the podium again in Italy Customer racing successes were concentrated on southern Europe during the second weekend in July: Audi customer teams achieved podium results with the Audi RS 3 LMS at Mugello, Italy, and are leading four of the TCR Italy championship classifications. In the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance at the same venue, an Audi R8 LMS also finished in the top three. The Audi R8 LMS GT2 celebrated an overall victory and second place in the Campeonato de España GT in Spain. The weekend was rounded off with a class win in Portugal for the GT4 version of the Audi R8 LMS. Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR) Leading the standings in Italy: At the third round of TCR Italy at Mugello, customer teams with the Audi RS 3 LMS took podium places in all four races. Private driver Nicola Baldan from Aikoa Racing achieved second place in both heats of TCR Italy and twice won the Master class. With these strong results, the Italian moved up from seventh to first place in the overall TCR Italy drivers’ standings, while he also leads the Master class. With third place overall in the second race, Canadian Nicolas Taylor from PMA Motorsport also won the rookie classification and the classification for drivers under 25 years of age. He continues to lead the rookie standings. In the TCR Italy DSG for models from the Volkswagen Group with dual clutch transmissions, seven drivers relied on the previous generation of the Audi RS 3 LMS. Here, the Italian Luca Franca in the Audi RS 3 LMS from Aikoa Racing finished runner-up in the first race with a grid of 19 participants, ahead of his compatriot Luca Verdi, who won the class for drivers under 25. In the second race, Luca Franca was back on the podium with third place.

Audi R8 most successful Le Mans sports car in present-day racing After the dominant quattro drivetrain was banned from touring car racing, Audi switched to sports prototypes and also underpinned its slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” in this motorsport category for 18 years. Audi, on making its debut at Le Mans in 1999, the toughest endurance race in the world, immediately managed the leap onto the podium, finishing third overall. In the following years, the Audi R8 was in a class of its own. From 2000 to 2002, Audi achieved a historic hat-trick, not least thanks to the TFSI technology that debuted in 2001 and then also subsequently made its way into production. In 2004 and 2005, customer teams clinched two further overall victories for Audi. The R8 secured its spot in motorsport history with a total of 63 victories in 80 sports car races. Title wins following the return to DTM Following Laurent Aiello’s victory with the Abt-Audi TT-R in 2002, Audi returned to the DTM with a factory-backed commitment in 2004 and instantly won the title with Mattias Ekström. In 2007, the Swede triumphed again, followed by Timo Scheider in 2008 and 2009, making Audi the first and so far only automobile manufacturer in DTM history to have managed a title hat-trick. In the 2011 season, Martin Tomczyk completed the success story of the Audi A4 DTM with another title, the fifth in total for the Audi A4 DTM. In 2013, Mike Rockenfeller, diving the Audi RS 5 DTM, clinched the ninth DTM title for Audi. René Rast caused a sensation in 2017 when he clinched another title for Audi in his rookie year. Audi took home the manufacturer’s championship crown in the same year. In 2019 and 2020, Rast won the prestigious title two more times. Audi drivers have thus already won the DTM drivers’ title twelve times. Added to this are six manufacturers’ and eight teams’ titles.

12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner drivers’ classification DTM (Abt-Audi TT-R) Winner SPEED GT (Audi S4 Competition) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2003 Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) 3rd place Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Spa and 1000 km Le Mans (Audi R8) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4) Winner SPEED GT (Audi RS 6 Competition) 2004 Winner drivers’, manufacturers’ and teams’ classification DTM (Audi A4 DTM) Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner Le Mans Endurance Series (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Monza (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Nürburgring (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Silverstone (Audi R8) Winner Finnish Super 2000 Touring Car Championship (Audi A4) 2005 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Silverstone (Audi R8) 2006 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R10 TDI) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 STCC) Winner teams’ classification Superstars Series (Audi RS 4) 2007 Winner drivers’ and teams’ classification DTM (Audi A4 DTM) Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R10 TDI) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Superstars Series (Audi RS 4) 2008 Winner drivers’ classification DTM (Audi A4 DTM) Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R10 TDI) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Le Mans Series (Audi R10 TDI) Winner Superstars Series (Audi RS 4) 2009 Winner drivers’ classification DTM (Audi A4 DTM) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R15 TDI) 3rd place Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R15 TDI) Winner FIA GT3 European Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner ADAC GT Masters (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Belgian GT

Around the 2023 anniversary race, Audi Tradition will send three winning cars onto the track during the Legends’ Parade on Friday, June 9, and before the start of the race on Saturday, June 10: the Audi R8 from 2000, the R10 TDI from 2007 and the R18 e-tron quattro from 2012 – driven by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Benoît Tréluyer. An appearance in the “Village des Constructeurs” will round off the Ingolstadt-based company’s commitment at Le Mans 2023: In addition to current product highlights, the brand will showcase the Audi R18 e-tron quattro from 2016 and the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron, developed for Ken Block. Autograph sessions with Audi driving legends are also planned at Le Mans. The “Le Mans” theme will also be demonstrated by Audi Tradition at the 2023 “Goodwood Festival of Speed” in England: From July 13 to 16, Capello, Kristensen and Tréluyer will also be on the grid there with the winning cars from 2000, 2007 and 2012. And Vesa and Juha Mikkola, the sons of rally legend Hannu Mikkola, will also be making an appearance at Goodwood – with the Audi Rallye quattro (Group 4) from 1980 and the Audi 200 quattro “Safari” from 1987 – both cars from the historic AUDI AG collection with which their father competed in legendary races. A team from Audi Sport will also be bringing two exceptional racing cars of more recent times to the start at Goodwood: the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron and the Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar Rally prototype. Note for media representatives: If you are interested in further details about Audi Tradition’s appearances in Le Mans or at the “Goodwood Festival of Speed” or are planning to be in attendance – please feel free to contact daniela.henger@audi.de. Details of the new book of the Edition Audi Tradition: Lars Krone / Alexander von Wegner: Audi in Le Mans. Edition Audi Tradition. 1st edition 2023, 320 pages, 603 photos and illustrations, Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld. ISBN 978-3-667-12652-8, Price: 59 euros.

Since 2009, the Audi R8 LMS has been competing in the Eifel marathon, which is one of the annual highlights of Audi Sport customer racing. The customer racing division has been part of the former quattro GmbH since 2011. With six overall victories and three additional GT3 class wins to date, Audi is the most successful manufacturer in the GT3 era of the endurance classic at the “Green Hell.” So, it’s no surprise that Audi Sport GmbH is launching its activities to mark its milestone birthday at the Nürburgring: At this year’s edition of the 24-hour race, the four Audi R8 LMS cars of the Audi Sport Teams will be competing in retro designs to mark the 40th anniversary of Audi Sport GmbH, featuring famous liveries from Audi’s motorsport history. In keeping with the birthday spirit, former DTM champions Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk will take part with the number 40 as their start number. Their Audi R8 LMS from Audi Sport Team Scherer PHX is visually based on the 1992 Audi V8 quattro DTM. Due to its demanding characteristics of the track, the Nordschleife is not only a motorsport challenge, but also a yardstick for the production vehicles of Audi Sport GmbH. Every new R and RS model completes several thousand kilometers on the varied Eifel circuit during its development phase. “The Nürburgring is the world’s toughest race track. It is a magical place for us and that’s why it is perfectly suited to start our 40th company birthday at the 24-hour race,’ says Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Motorsport at Audi. “The Nürburgring-Nordschleife is considered as a Mecca for all motorsport fans. For me, the 24-hour race is one of the most beautiful things you can experience in motorsport, but the Nürburgring is also essential for the development of our production cars. All our models are tested there under extreme conditions and brought to production readiness.”

ABT Sportsline concentrates on two Audi R8 LMS cars Tresor Orange1 with two drivers in the DTM for the first time Up-and-coming Liqui Moly Team Engstler faces first GT3 season Audi Sport customer racing relies on a strong customer base in the DTM in 2023 as well. Three established teams – including an up-and-coming touring car racing team with motor racing experience – will contest the tradition-steeped series with the Audi R8 LMS, which will be held under new auspices this year. “The DTM offers Audi Sport excellent opportunities together with the experienced customer teams,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl. “We can pursue exciting motorsport in the important performance market Germany with the Audi R8 LMS in competition with first-class rivals.” The DTM enters the 2023 season under new auspices after ADAC acquired the brand rights on December 2, 2022. The calendar includes eight events spread across Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. The racing series, which was founded in 1984, will kick off its new season at Oschersleben from May 26 to 28. Audi drivers have won the DTM twelve times since 1990. “We expect that the 2023 DTM, now organized by ADAC, will be characterized by a high performance density, exciting races and a future-oriented focus,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “It’s all the more pleasing that we can rely on high-performance partner teams with great knowledge.” Team ABT Sportsline from Kempten in the Allgäu region with ABT Motorsport director Martin Tomczyk was the best Audi customer team in the DTM in each of the past two years with Kelvin van der Linde finishing third (2021) as well as René Rast (2022). It thus made a major contribution to Audi winning the manufacturers title last year. This year, the squad that provided the DTM Champion in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009 again relies on Kelvin van der Linde from South Africa and the Swiss Audi Sport driver Ricardo Feller.

In addition to the Audi A8 flagship, the Audi R8 super sports car and other models in the B, C and D series, the sporty RS models are developed and manufactured in Neckarsulm as well – and not without reason, as this is where Audi Sport GmbH is based. This company traces its lineage back to the founding of quattro GmbH in 1983, meaning it will celebrate its 40-year anniversary in 2023. Since the end of 2020, the first all-electric Audi model made in Germany is also manufactured here: the Audi e-tron GT quattro. With around 15,500 employees at the Neckarsulm site, AUDI AG is currently one of the biggest companies in the economic region of Heilbronn-Franken. Everything started 150 years ago with ten employees – what a history, what dynamism, what a development! Exciting chapter in NSU advertising: Creative, innovative, groundbreaking “Fixe Fahrer fahren Fox”, “Kluge Köpfe kaufen Konsul”, “Nicht mehr laufen – Quickly kaufen!” – a lot of NSU advertising slogans are legendary. In his book “Fahre Prinz und du bist König. Geschichten aus der NSU-Geschichte” (Drive Prinz and You’re a King: Stories from NSU’s History), NSU’s former head of advertising Arthur Westrup explains that NSU didn’t have a lot of money on hand in the 1950s, which made him and his team all the more creative. In addition to their catchy phrases, the marketing experts came up with special campaigns. For instance, a special ad for the NSU Quickly appeared on the back of the BILD newspaper every Monday, sometimes addressing current issues. One ad after an international match between Germany and England read: “You see the beaten players heading home from Berlin, and all the strikers wanly groan, ‘Blessed is he who has a Quickly!’”