if any of you have taken delivery and wish to have the CF bits installed they will become available for order in the upcoming weeks to months through your audi R8 dealer. for all those whose cars will not be arriving with them you will have the option as well.

the blades, for starters, are available for order through your dealer. you will need a commission or vin, for the blades will be alloted only legitimately and as batches or individual pieces become available. your dealer will be able to install them.

i would also caution against purchasing them through third parties. some of them are unreliable in one way or another. i will not mention individual companies but i speak from personal experience and confirmed through discussions with two other R8 owners with whom i have been in contact.

furthermore, the OE pieces are through and through CF, from front to back. they are not veneers. they are works of art.

PS- both pieces should cost about 4.4K.

My dealer installed CF interior and blades under full warranty, as they came with audi part numbers, and had audi shipping tags. Just bought some EU tail lights and rear fog as well.

The guys at quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm told me Monday when I was there that right now the are just 'a studie' and they would 'soon be available'...

<img src="http://www.stahmann-motorsports.com/Audi/Neckars08/IMG_2555%20(Medium).JPG">

I'm going back to Neckarsulm tomorrow for a personal R8 production tour. Perhaps I can find out more then, but I thought you may have some other information.

and at the time of its intro be made available as an option on the V8. there will also be CF lip spoilers and gills/slats for the bumpers.

i would leave no stone unturned during your visit, but right now the timeline decisions are being made at the corporate level so i doubt you'll discover anything new. see if you can get a pic of the CF steering wheel option that will be coming up.

As I'm sure you know, they are being very careful about photos so far, but I'll see what I can see.

The R8 that has the CF mirrors has a suede steering wheel and handbrake, but no CF wheel. Perhaps something will reveal itself tomorrow.

I don't recall if the production-ready looking R8 V10 had the CF mirrors or not. I'll look for it tomorrow. It even had the wrap-gard on the paint as if it were ready to be delivered to a dealer. Had it not sounded so different and had the oval exhausts I probably would have mistaken it for a V8.

I do have to say that the V10 bumper is nice - cleaner than the V8 and not as cartoon-looking as the V12. Plus the rear diffuser is so cool looking. I'd love to see that piece in CF...

I heard from some friends at Porsche that they fired their CF maufacturer and they are having a hard time getting the CF pieces they need. Is Audi having CF challenges as well?