Audi R8 V12 TDI will not see the light of day

It looks like you won’t be seeing a diesel supercar anytime soon. It’s because Audi has just cancelled its R8 TDI program. If you can recall, Audi scored big time in the recent Le Mans races with their turbodiesel R10 supercar. Afterward, they brought out a couple of concept models of the R8 V12 TDI at Detroit and Geneva last year, supposedly to give you Audi fans a taste of the turbodiesel’s immense torque output. One of the reasons Audi took a step back are the rising diesel prices in America, where almost a third of R8 sales are made. It would prove just too costly for them to keep tweaking the R8 for a 12-cylinder turbodiesel configuration, without a good forecast of sales in the US. You’ll just have to make do with the R8’s 5.2-liter V10 FSI engine, as well as a convertible variant which is just around the corner. Keep your eyes out for that one, folks, because it’s not too often you see a supercar with its top off. And besides, nowadays, gas is cheaper than diesel.

Source:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/07/all-torque-no-action-audi-reportedly-cancels-r8-tdi/