The automotive industry is controlled by a bunch of old grey-haired men sitting around board room tables in Germany or begging on a Detroit street corner because their homes are worth the same as a cardboard box. Oh yea...let's not forget Japan (that's for you Wert). These elderly men are the authorities in the major car corporations and when they say something, albeit important or not, every car blog and magazine not only runs with it but pimps it out until the next guy says something different. If you haven't figured this out yet, go read DUB Magazine.
Take, for example, the recent news out from Quattro GmbH. Earlier this summer, several R8 mules were catching fire while under testing near or on the Nürburgring. The roll cages and testing habits immediately indicated that these R8s were the prototypes for what we will soon be calling the RS8.
OMGHI2 to the internet rumor mill as we at Fast Lane Daily like to call it. Quattro GmbH director Wener Frowein recently revealed the mules that went up in flames were packing the same V10 twin turbo'd engines that are found on the next-gen RS6. Ha. I doubt it. I may go out on a limb here but...the interwebs once again took the bait. I don't have much of a reputation in the automotive world and I undoubtedly never will - but what I do have a passion cars and a love for Audis.
After one car goes up in flames, especially a very expensive mule that cost the manufacturer hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce and test, you better believe there won't be a second, similar "accident." For a few mules to go up in flames, I highly doubt they all had the same engine. From what I understand, after a bit of digging, at least one of those R8s that bit the bullet had a W12 engine. When Audi or any other manufacturer tests vehicles, no vehicle is the same until late in the testing/production cycle. How many times have we seen pre-production press cars with different bits and pieces?
Audi threw some misinformation to the media, and like the rabid dogs we are for the latest news, we bit. I don't see the RS8 coming with a V10 based off the FSi RS4 motor. Audi likes to push the limits with their upper-end cars; a few simple design changes won't cut it for their exotic sports car. Being that I have no reputation to worry about, I'm going to take my chances by saying you should expect the RS8 to have anything but a naturally- aspirated V10. With the new B8 S4 being turbocharged, do you really think Audi won't go all out on the RS8? Times are changing — don't believe everything you read - even here once in a while.
In addition to being a producer for Fast Lane Daily and the king of getting things done "that need to get done ASAP" J.F. Musial is also a certified Germanophile.