The Audi R8 has delivered nearly two decades of thrills, but the journey is coming to an end as 2023 will be the final year for the iconic supercar. Audi of America is now preparing to say farewell at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
The event will be held at Laguna Seca, as part of Monterey Car Week, and be a “celebration of the past and a look to the future.” As part of this effort, the R8 will make its “final laps around the storied track led by the RS e-tron GT,” the brand’s high-performance EV.
While the RS e-tron GT is a nod to the future, the R8 has earned its place in the history books as well as on the track. Speaking of the latter, Audi said the R8 coupe is a “true thoroughbred” as 50% of its parts are shared with the R8 GT3 LMS race car.
More: 2023 Audi R8 Coupe GT RWD Is An Oversteering Last Hurrah For The V10
As part of the celebration, each R8 at Monterey Car Week will have a unique wrap created by Frank Lamberty, the exterior designer of the first-generation supercar. Audi is keeping the wraps under wraps, but said they’ll be inspired by the R8’s “born on the track and built for the road ethos.” They’ll have a Laguna Seca drawing on their roof as well as a “split motif that starts as an ordinary road car at the front and fades to a design inspired by liveries found on the R8 GT3 race cars.”
The 2023 R8 V10 performance quattro coupe starts at $209,700 and has a 5.2-liter V10 engine pumping out 602 hp (449 kW / 610 PS) and 413 lb-ft (559 Nm) of torque. It’s connected to a seven-speed S tronic transmission, which enables the all-wheel drive supercar to rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.1 seconds and onto a top speed of 206 mph (332 km/h).
Fans can also opt for the more affordable rear-wheel drive variant, which starts at $158,600. However, it has a reduced output of 562 hp (419 kW / 570 PS) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque. This results in a slower 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of 3.6 seconds as well as a slightly reduced top speed of 204 mph (328 km/h).
Only a handful of 2023 Audi R8s remain available as new and a quick search online reveals a mere 37 matches. As a result, you’d better act fast if you’ve been on the fence.
Besides saying goodbye to the R8, Audi will display an assortment of e-tron models at the Legends of the Autobahn event. There, visitors can check out the Q4 Sportback e-tron, Q8 e-tron, Q8 Sportback e-tron, and RS e-tron GT.
