what have you heard on overall weight?

the S4 is entitled to weigh 2 tons. it is a solidly engineered german car with the highest frontal, offset, and side impact crash ratings the industry can offer. it can carry four adults and even five. it can haul ass through ANY weather because of quattro. and it is still only a few tenths slower to 60 than an M3. all that plus the luxury it contains and the quality it boasts. two tons is nothing.

all that being said. if the S4 is designed to be all that it is and yet lies in the middle of the audi brand S echelon in terms of engineering potential and exclusivity i can't imagine what the R8 will be capable of.

the R8 has been designed from the BEGINNING to be an all out sports car with the only compromise being daily driving capability and comfort. for this reason you can be assured that the launch version will be lighter than the new TT 3.2 despite the heavier engine.

<3200 lbs + ~425 hp engine = no disappointment. esp. at 100K

i can't imagine what the V10 will do.

but i have a feeling most people will rarely ever have more than 2 people in the car. Just an assumption that i could be totally wrong about.

The weight of LMQ was described as 1,530 kg, 3,373 lb according to the presse info of Audi Le Mans quattro 09/2003.

"This concept car is based on aluminium Audi Space Frame (ASF) structure - the perfect blend of minimum weight and maximum rigidity as a foundation for the highest standards of road dynamics.

The outer skin of the body and various add-on parts are of mixed weight-saving construction, using aluminium and carbon-fibre reinforced plastics. This is a precondition for the car's low gross weight of only 1,530 kilograms and therefore for its outstandingly good power-to-weight ratio of only 2.5 kg/bhp.

This mid-engined two-seater is powered by a five-litre V10 'biturbo' engine with FSI direct fuel injection, developing 449kW (610 bhp) at 6,800rpm.

The Audi Le Mans quattro accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds and to 200 km/h in 10.8 seconds."

Der neue 911 turbo
Heckmotor 1,585kg 480ps 620Nm 0-100km/h 3.9sec in Schaltgetriebe<ul><li><a href="http://www.porsche.com/germany/models/911/911-turbo/featuresandspecs/">http://www.porsche.com/germany/models/911/911-turbo/featuresandspecs/</a</li></ul>

I believe Audi AG must overcome Porsche, and they must start the R8 history with V10 TT version,... not V8 slower version, or they fail as BMW M1.

Will not Audi overcome their mate Porsche as Lamborghini...?<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M1">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M1</a</li></ul>