Audi R8 V10 Plus
Naturally Aspirated Halo Supercar · 2007–2015
Audi R8 V10 Plus (Type 42)
A mid-engine, Le Mans-named flagship with a Lamborghini-derived 5.2L V10 behind glass — one of the last great naturally aspirated supercars, and the car that made Tony Stark a believer.
The Legend
Some supercars shout. The Audi R8 V10 Plus simply walks into the room and lets the V10 do the talking. This is our full review and buyer's guide to the first-generation R8 (Type 42) in its most focused form.
When Audi revealed the R8 at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, it did something rare: it built a genuine mid-engine exotic you could actually live with. The name was not marketing fiction either — it was borrowed from the Audi R8 LMP race car, a Le Mans prototype that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005), one of the most successful endurance racers of the modern era. The road car inherited that badge and the motorsport DNA behind it.
The V10 arrived for the 2009 model year, and the hotter V10 Plus followed — reaching the US market for 2014. It was the high-water mark of the Type 42: more power, less weight, carbon ceramic brakes, and a naturally aspirated soundtrack that the industry was already beginning to abandon. Then Hollywood did the rest. In 2008 the R8 became Tony Stark's car in the first Iron Man film, and it has been shorthand for “approachable supercar” ever since.
“The R8 V10 Plus is a mid-engine exotic you can drive every day — and one of the last great naturally aspirated V10s ever sold.”
Design & The Shape
The R8's silhouette traces directly to the 2003 Le Mans Quattro concept, built to honor three straight Le Mans wins and shown at the Geneva Motor Show. The production car kept the concept's mid-engine proportions, its LED lighting signature, and its single most recognizable feature: the sideblade, the contrasting panel behind each door. It is not decoration. The sideblade forms part of the engine's air intake on each flank — on V10 cars a lower bulge was added specifically to feed cooling air to the larger engine — while tying the whole body into one clean graphic line. On the V10 Plus, carbon-fiber sideblades were standard.
The body sits on Audi's all-aluminum Space Frame (ASF), with cast aluminum nodes and extruded profiles. The bare body shell weighs roughly 200 kg (441 lbs), which is a big part of why a V10 supercar can tip the scale at around 1,570 kg (3,461 lbs) in manual form — lighter than plenty of ordinary sports sedans. The V10 Plus pared things further with carbon ceramic brakes, carbon exterior trim and lightweight bucket seats, saving roughly 45 kg over the standard V10.
Our specific car wore something the factory never offered: a show-stopping custom finish. As Octane's listing put it, it was “finished in a custom gold chrome wrap over the factory paint — a genuine head-turner, professionally applied and reversible.” Against the R8's already-dramatic surfacing, the gold-chrome wrap turned an exotic into an event. That car has since sold.
It is a design that has aged remarkably well. The LED daytime running lights — an industry first when the R8 launched — reminded the Iron Man producers of the character's eyes, and the open engine bay under glass suggested the arc reactor. The visual link was so strong that Audi built a full product partnership around it. Twenty years on, the shape still reads as a supercar, not a period piece.
The 5.2L V10
Everything that makes the R8 V10 Plus special eventually comes back to the engine behind your shoulders.
It is a 5.2-litre (5,204 cc) naturally aspirated V10 with Audi's FSI direct injection, mounted amidships and visible under a glass cover. Crucially, this is the same fundamental engine family as the Lamborghini Gallardo — both share the 90-degree V-angle and 90mm cylinder spacing, and both Audi and Lamborghini sit under the Volkswagen Group. (A common mix-up: the Huracan-derived engine belongs to the second-generation R8, not this Type 42. For the 2014 car, the right name is Gallardo.) Audi's contribution was its FSI fuel-injection technology and a distinct state of tune.
In V10 Plus trim it is rated at 550 PS / 542 hp (SAE) at 8,000 rpm, with 398 lb-ft (540 Nm) at 6,500 rpm. The two power figures are the same engine measured two ways: 550 PS is the European metric standard Audi quotes in marketing, and 542 hp is the precise SAE net figure for the US market — US outlets generally round to 550. The Plus added 25 PS over the standard 525 PS V10. There is no turbo lag because there are no turbos; the reward is a linear, urgent climb to an 8,000-rpm-plus redline and a hard-edged ten-cylinder wail that turbocharged rivals simply cannot reproduce.
Power reaches the road through Audi's quattro all-wheel drive, which is what makes the R8 so unusually usable for a mid-engine exotic — it puts the V10's output down in the wet and the cold, not just on a dry track. Two gearboxes were offered: a 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic, and a rare 6-speed gated manual sourced from Lamborghini, with the same gearbox architecture as the Gallardo and a real metal open gate.
Performance & Driving
The numbers are properly quick. With the S tronic dual-clutch, the V10 Plus hits 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds; with the gated manual, roughly 3.7 seconds. Top speed is a claimed 197 mph (317 km/h). Those are supercar figures by any measure, delivered with a usability that supercars of the era rarely matched.
But the R8 was never just a straight-line story. The mid-engine layout, the aluminum Space Frame and quattro traction combine into a chassis that feels planted and exploitable rather than intimidating. The V10 Plus adds standard carbon ceramic brakes and a firmer, fixed coilover setup for sharper body control. It is fast enough to embarrass cars costing far more, yet calm enough to commute in — the dual personality that defined the first-generation R8.
S tronic or the gated manual?
This matters more than usual on the V10 Plus, because the manual is a genuine unicorn:
- 7-speed S tronic: the dual-clutch automatic most cars left the factory with — quicker shifts, the faster 0–60, and the easier daily companion.
- 6-speed gated manual: a Lamborghini-sourced gearbox with a metal open gate. Fewer than 30 V10 Plus manuals total reached the US across the 2014 and 2015 model years combined, and only 8 were sold in 2015 — the final year any R8 was built with a manual. The second-generation car dropped three pedals entirely.
The practical upshot for a buyer: confirm which transmission a given car has before you commit. A gated-manual V10 Plus is a collector artifact, not just another R8.
Why It's Special
The R8 V10 Plus sits at a genuine crossroads in supercar history. By 2014 the industry was turbocharging everything — Ferrari had already forced-inducted the California — which makes a mid-engine, naturally aspirated V10 one of the last of its kind at any mainstream price tier. When the Type 42 ended in 2015, its final examples were the last cars built on this original Gallardo-derived engine architecture. It is, fairly, among the last naturally aspirated V10 supercars.
It was also a bargain in its day. The 2014 V10 Plus started at $170,545 with the manual ($179,645 with S tronic) — the Gallardo it shares an engine family with started north of $200,000. Same ten cylinders, Audi money. And every R8 was, and still is, hand-assembled by Audi Sport GmbH at the specialist Bollinger Hofe facility in Neckarsulm, Germany — a low-volume operation kept separate from Audi's mass-market lines.
“Same engine family as a Lamborghini, hand-built in Germany, usable in any weather — the R8 V10 Plus was the supercar that broke the rules.”
As a US-market car, the Type 42 R8 carries no grey-market complications — Audi of America sold it through dealers, and standard state titling applies. That makes it one of the most straightforward exotics to own. If you want one in your own driveway, Octane sources, inspects and finances cars exactly like this.
Where Can You Take It?
The Type 42 R8 V10 is a genuine tuner and show-scene favorite — from four-figure twin-turbo monsters to AWD track weapons and head-turning wraps like our own gold-chrome car. Here are the directions these cars are actually built in.
Four-figure forced induction
The 5.2L V10 is a forced-induction legend: specialist shops like Underground Racing and Heffner build twin-turbo R8s making anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000-plus horsepower. The stout engine block and quattro AWD make it one of the most popular bases for big-power exotic builds in the world.
Sharpen the AWD chassis
The aluminum Space Frame and quattro traction make a brilliant track platform. Coilovers, an aero package, big brakes (the V10 Plus already wears carbon ceramics) and sticky rubber turn the R8 into a confidence-inspiring time-attack car that puts its power down where others spin.
A rolling head-turner
Exactly what our car is — a custom gold-chrome wrap over the factory paint. The R8's dramatic surfacing and sideblade make it a wrap-and-show icon; a professionally applied, reversible finish transforms the look with zero permanent change to the car.
Wake up the V10
You do not need turbos to improve an R8. An aftermarket exhaust and a light ECU tune unlock more of the naturally aspirated V10's sound and throttle response, sharpening the ten-cylinder wail without touching the engine's reliable internals.
Leave it stock and bank it
The best build is sometimes no build. The gated-manual cars and the last naturally aspirated V10s are already appreciating as the era of the NA supercar ends. Keep a clean, low-mile example stock and original, and let it become the future classic it is destined to be.
Did You Know?
The R8 name comes from Audi's Le Mans-winning R8 prototype — five overall wins (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005), one of the great endurance racers ever.
The sideblade is functional — it forms part of the engine air intake, with an extra lower bulge on V10 cars to feed the bigger engine.
The 5.2L V10 shares its architecture with the Lamborghini Gallardo — same V-angle and cylinder spacing, with Audi's own FSI injection added.
The R8 was Tony Stark's car in Iron Man (2008). Audi structured a full Marvel partnership — the LED eyes and arc-reactor engine bay were no accident.
The gated manual is a unicorn — fewer than 30 V10 Plus manuals reached the US across 2014–2015, and 2015 was the last year any R8 had a clutch pedal.
The aluminum Space Frame body shell weighs only about 200 kg (441 lbs), helping the V10 Plus stay near 1,570 kg (3,461 lbs).
The V10 Plus added exactly 25 PS over the standard V10 (525 to 550 PS), plus carbon ceramic brakes and carbon trim for roughly 45 kg less weight.
At $170,545 to start, the V10 Plus undercut the Gallardo it shares an engine with by tens of thousands of dollars — same family, Audi price.
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Frequently Asked
How much power does the Audi R8 V10 Plus make?
The Type 42 V10 Plus is rated 550 PS / 542 hp (SAE) at 8,000 rpm, with 398 lb-ft (540 Nm) of torque at 6,500 rpm. The two horsepower figures describe the same engine: 550 PS is the European metric standard Audi uses in marketing, and 542 hp is the precise SAE net figure for the US market — which most US outlets round to 550.
Is the R8 V10 the same engine as a Lamborghini?
Yes, in architecture. The R8's 5.2L V10 shares its 90-degree V-angle and cylinder spacing with the Lamborghini Gallardo, since both Audi and Lamborghini are part of the Volkswagen Group. Audi added its own FSI direct injection and a distinct state of tune. Note that the Huracan-derived engine belongs to the second-generation R8, not this first-generation Type 42.
Did the R8 V10 Plus come with a manual transmission?
It could. Most cars used the 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic, but a 6-speed gated manual sourced from Lamborghini was offered on the V10 Plus for 2014 and 2015. It is extremely rare — fewer than 30 reached the US across both years combined, and 2015 was the last year any R8 was built with a manual. Always confirm which gearbox a specific car has before buying.
How fast is the Audi R8 V10 Plus?
It reaches 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds with the S tronic dual-clutch (around 3.7 seconds with the manual) and has a claimed top speed of 197 mph (317 km/h). The naturally aspirated V10 revs past 8,000 rpm, delivering its power in a linear, lag-free climb that turbocharged rivals cannot replicate.
Is the R8 a good supercar to own day to day?
Unusually so. quattro all-wheel drive puts the V10's power down in poor weather, the aluminum Space Frame keeps it relatively light, and Audi build quality makes it more livable than most mid-engine exotics. As a US-market car the Type 42 has no grey-market import barrier — standard state titling and registration apply.
What was the gold chrome car you had?
Our 2014 R8 V10 Plus wore a custom gold chrome wrap applied over the factory paint — a professionally applied, fully reversible finish that turned an already-dramatic supercar into a true head-turner. That particular car has sold, but we can source and finance another R8 to your spec. Inquire and we will hunt one down.