Facelifted Audi R8 Will Leave You Hot And Flustered

The facelifted 2019 Audi R8 has been scooped by our spy photographers wearing bright colors and some camouflage over key areas.

These two testers, painted yellow and blue, reveal that exterior styling changes made to the mid-engine supercar will be minimal. Nevertheless, those with a keen eye will be able to notice the differences, most predominantly at the front. Despite the presence of camouflage across the nose, it’s apparent that Audi designers have modified the air intakes and reshaped the grille to make the R8 more appealing than ever before.

Moving to the sides, the presence of camouflage indicates that some new skirts have been designed. At the rear, the facelifted R8 adopts a different mesh grille design which appears to stretch the full width of the car. The presence of a small rear wing, menacing diffuser and larger-than-life tailpipes indicate that these two prototypes could be range-topping R8 GT models.

Upgrades will be found under the skin too.

If a new Audi R8 GT is indeed around the corner, a host of performance changes are inevitable. Power from the naturally-aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine could be increased to around 650 hp and possibly as much as 670 hp. We wouldn’t be surprised if the range-topping R8 GT also took some inspiration from the Lamborghini Huracan Performante and its liberal use of active aerodynamic components.

Beyond the R8 GT, it is inevitable that the rest of the R8 range will benefit from the same visual updates. For some time, it was believed that an entry-level R8 with a V6 engine was on the cards but contradictory statements from the German marque leave the future of such a model up in the air. Given the demand for the sole V10 model on offer, it could be hard for Audi to justify diluting the R8 brand with a V6 variant. Or at least that’s what we hope happens.

Either way, the facelifted Audi R8 range, including the GT, should debut before the year is out.