Audi R8 Spyder leaks out

The first proper pictures of the new Audi R8 Spyder

First pictures of the V10 powered Audi R8 Spyder have surfaced ahead of the Frankfurt launch.

Update 14/9/09: Audi has now confirmed the details and issued a press release for the Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro

Yet another car maker with a leaky PR computer, this time Audi with the R8 Spyder.

We’ve known for some time that the drop-top R8 was coming to Frankfurt. The Spyder has been seen out and about on the set of the film ‘Iron Man II’, and we had a UK Audi dealer using a picture from the set to promote orders for the R8 Spyder back in July. So it’s not new news, but the pictures are new and are obviously part of the official release set – which we’ll no doubt see later today.

What do we know about the R8 Spyder? Well, we’ve covered pretty much all of it in previous reports. It will only be available as a V10 and is going to cost in the region of £100k. It will have a folding canvas roof, not a retractable hard top, and it’s lost the distinctive sideblades the R8 Coupe has.

None of these shots show us the R8 with the top up, so we can’t comment on how elegant it will be. But the point is how it looks with the top down. Not as dramatic as the coupe – it looks more ordinary – but let’s reserve judgement until we see it in the flesh next week.