Audi R8 Could Return With Lamborghini Temerario's 10,000-RPM PHEV V8

After a 17-year production run, the Audi R8 left us following the 2024 model year, leaving a mid-engine-supercar-sized hole in our hearts. Now though, it looks like we'll be getting that hole filled with an all-new plug-in-hybrid R8 that'll be the German automaker's most powerful and fastest road car ever.

We're still a little bit of a ways away from a third-generation R8 actually appearing, as it's being tentatively slated for a late 2027 debut. When it does show up, it'll follow in the footsteps of the R8s that came before it by being based on the baby Lamborghini. This time, it'll be paired up with the Temerario — meaning it'll be powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 paired with a plug-in hybrid system, according to Autocar. It'll also get the Lambo's chassis, electronics and key structural elements.

The biggest news, of course, is that new engine, which is sure to be quite the screamer. We've previously covered the motor, which Lamborghini says makes 789 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque on its own. Those are both very solid numbers, but it gets taken up a notch when you realize it has a 10,000(!!!) RPM redline. The Temerario also gets a 3.8-kWh battery pack mounted within the car's center tunnel that can fully recharge in just 30 minutes. It still has enough juice to run the car in a fully electric mode, though I suspect the range will be pretty limited. It also comes with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that'll act as a starter-generator and recover energy under braking. Total output in the Lambo is 907 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque; R8s of the past have had less power than their Gallardo and Huracán counterparts.

Despite all of this extra hardware, Lamborghini says the Temerario has a dry weight of 3,725 pounds — that's 591 more than the Huracán it replaces, but it'll have more than enough power to make up for that delta. Autocar says the new Audi will also take advantage of the Temerario's new aluminum spaceframe. It apparently uses 50 percent fewer parts than the Huracán and has 80 percent fewer welds, all while being 25 percent stiffer.

Here's why Audi decided to resurrect the R8, from Autocar:

The decision to revive the R8 is reportedly down to an agreement reached between the Audi board and its Volkswagen Group parent on how the brand can transition to an all-electric line-up. It will now extend the model cycles of select ICE models and expand the number of plug-in hybrids that it offers.

Autocar understands that another key factor is Audi's push to develop FIA-homologated iterations of the new R8 to once again spearhead the brand's involvement in key endurance events such as the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

We can expect the third-generation R8 to be built at Audi's Böllinger Höfe plant in Germany, which is the same place the previous two generations of cars were built, according to the outlet.

I, for one, cannot wait to see what Audi cooks up with this next-generation R8. The previous cars have been icons pretty much since the day they entered the market — first with that beautiful-sounding 4.2-liter V8 and then the Lamborghini V10. Who among us can forget that slick gated manual transmission the first generation car came standard with?

It's sort of a shame people stopped paying attention to the R8 as the second-generation car began to age. Hopefully with the introduction of a new R8, Audi, which is going through a bit of an identity crisis at the moment, can carve a new path forward with this car as a halo.