sweet sounds very very promising.

[Paris Hilton] Thats Hot [/Paris Hilton]

and what about touareg v10’s?

thats great going to a 4 star restaurant smelling like a school bus

great(!)

damn thats a lot of torque.

the torque is nice, but HP is what sells a SPORTS car. 22% less HP is not going to sell a car that is supposed to rival the 911 in performance.

Customers looking for diesel engines know that torque is where diesels excel at. Those who want to join the horsepower penis wars will pick the gasoline engine.

i prefer torque, i miss the days when you could blip the throttle and the car would jump forward, now you mash the throttle and wait for 5000rpm before the car starts to make useable power. but thats just a preference i dont go to the track i sit in traffic.

Agreed, CTS. I can’t stand hearing these Honda engines that are buzzing along at 3000rpms in 5th gear while *cruising* because they can’t make low-end power.

Horsepower wins arguments. Torque wins races…

I have to disagree with you STL, I think its just the opposite way.

Don’t get my wrong, i’m not anti torque, but 300hp is not going to cut it at this price point.

Torque begets horsepower, but one can not exist without the other.

For a great example of what torque offers, drive a new Honda Civic Si, and then go drive a new VW GTI. The Civic is fast, but the GTI is a whole different ball game. It throws you back into your seat with every shift. The Civic isn’t even interesting until 6000rpm, but the GTI is a beast from 2000rpm.

^^^^exactly the point in question, nice post.

Also along the same lines is driving an Accord V6 vs. an Aura XR, but not as extreme.

The R8 TDI will be popular with farmers, they can use in in the field when the tractor breaks down.

And, because someone mentioned the GTi vs. SI torque/hp debate:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0606_midsize_coupe_comparision/performance_chart.html

2 different philosophies and neither one is wrong. Make sure you check out the stats on page 5 so you can what little real world advantage all that torque gets you as far as raw accelration and crusing RPMS.

HP isn’t what sells exotic cars. If that were the case, no one would buy Ferraris and the AMG’d out SL65s would be everywhere.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2007/112_0707_2009_cadillac_cts_v,

this is what i was hoping for from the first post of the R8…now thats exotic, a supercar with a TDI

I’d at least think they would turbocharge the diesel V8 or V10 engine.

Personal preferences aside, power is power. My daily driver is a Mitsubishi L200 with a 2.5 liter turbo diesel. It makes about 175 hp, due to a little extra boost and airflow mods, but it always had a good amount of torque… over 320 lb ft @ 2000 rpm even in stock form. It runs out of steam in the higher reaches of the tach though, but it’s a truck and it’s made to haul stuff. I think the same can be safely said for most diesel engines (running out of oomph at high rpms, that is).
Now, I’m not comparing my workhorse truck to an R8 TDI, so leave the stupid retorts alone.

On the flip side, I owned a Honda Integra Type R with the K20 engine, and that dyno’d at 276whp @ 8000 rpm and 170 lb ft @ 7600 rpm… not a lot you might say, but remember that a DC5 Type R only weighs 1180 kg.. That car was a blast, with ample power in any gear and a 9000 rpm redline. And trust me, anyone who says small displacement and high rpms is for “ricers”, consider the displacement and max rpm of a Formula 1 machine.

My point is, I don’t think a diesel makes for a really sporty engine, but it can have great performance. The power and torque would definitely be there. Torque is great, but loads of torque make a lot of shifting unnecessary. Not a lot of fun if you really want an involved driving experience on a twisty road, but plenty fast. All this is just my opinion, by the way.

Personally, I prefer high hp and rpms over torque. If that makes me a “ricer”, so be it. I’ve outgrown my Type R, and now run a Lancer Evolution IX that throws down 420 whp and 407 lb ft of torque. I’m having way too much fun driving my car to care what anyone thinks.

276 whp???? if it’s naturally aspirated, I don’t believe it

It was naturally aspirated. Hondata K pro, Toda N2 cams, springs & retainers, individual throttle bodies, 3 inch exhaust. The ITB’s and tuning made all the difference. K20s with cams, tuning and intake/exhaust work make 250 whp easy. What’s hard to believe?

Ps. The runs were done on a Dynapack Dyno on 98 octane fuel.

Diesel on a High-Performance Sportscar? Why not! Audi won LeMans with a Diesel Prototype, BMW had great results with a Diesel Car in some Touring Event…

anyway, whod suited better to put a diesel engine in a sportscar than the guys who put sportyness in diesels-cars? Dont know if the new era of diesel engines reached the US yet, but about 10 years ago diesels, especially Audis TDI engines, started to be some hard competition on the autobahn…

I think it’s a great idea. With that much torque at only 1800 RPMs, combined with AWD, this car will launch incredibly hard, and should be an absolute rocket 0-60.

Diesel technology has really come a long way, and those of you dismissing the diesel as too slow will be surprised when you see the performance numbers.

I’m sure there is plenty of tuning capability for even more power, provided the block, crank, and heads are strong enough. Diesels respond very well to increased boost and fuel. You never have to worry about detonation, because, well, it’s already detonating! All you need to watch for are the EGT’s.

I would love to smoke a 911 Turbo (literally smoke) with one of these R8 diesels.

I would definitely buy one of these.

weight?

…u wont smoke a 911 turbo with an R8 diesel.

deantj,
I’m not sure what you meant by this statement:

—
HP isn’t what sells exotic cars. If that were the case, no one would buy Ferraris and the AMG’d out SL65s would be everywhere.
—-

A 180,000 dollar SL 65 AMG has 604 hp compared to the 480 hp from an F430
priced the same, he means the SL65 should sell loads more than ferraris, lambos, aston martins, and bentleys

thats a post towards lyndon

an 180K AMG is still easier to find, maintain, and purchase than a new Ferrari. Plus, an AMG can be driven to work, the grocery store, and the drag strip. The F car cannot. These are some of the reasons that the very expensive AMGs sell alot.

I feel like there has been some misunderstanding here. The AMG cars are not really germane to the conversation, because they provide torque AND hp, not just alot of torque BUT the lowest hp in class. If the R8 were to use the engine configuration discussed in the article, it would have roughly 325hp and 500lbs. The torque is great, but it needs more hp if it wants to position itself against the “affordable” supercars.

________ the merc AMG’s also sell a lot simply because they are mercs and many people dont really know about ferrari

” ________ the merc AMG’s also sell a lot simply because they are mercs and many people dont really know about ferrari
Comment by LP640, posted on June5 at 3:17 pm”

Dont know about Ferrari? But interested in sportscars AND wealthy enough to get a AMG or similar?

I pity such people… rich, but totally clueless…
(then again… they make the best customers…)

“Personal preferences aside, power is power. My daily driver is a Mitsubishi L200 with a 2.5 liter turbo diesel.”

Damn… they use those things for ambulances. What do you do for a living?

“…u wont smoke a 911 turbo with an R8 diesel.

Comment by 55amg, posted on June5 at 9:55 am ”

And you know this, how?

You don’t know diesels, and you don’t understand the concept of torque. It’s OK, you’ll get schooled soone enough.

What about the 6-cylinder version of the Audi R8, the Audi R6, which is supposed to have 400+ HP, be mid-engined, Quattro drive, dual-clutch, aluminum alloy space frame, and real dry-sump engine, that is, better than a crippled 295 HP Porsche Cayman S without LSD for less than the price of a Cayman non-S?

911 Turbo 480hp, 505lb/ft torque (with overboost) 0-60mph 3.4 seconds. You think Diesel R8 is gonna be faster?

To Veda:

I never said L300, I said L200. The L300 can be used as an ambulance, but the last time I checked, the L200 was, and always was a truck. Mine’s a 4 door, or what americans would call a quad cab.

Check out http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/newl200/