China is growing rapidly in becoming one of the superpowers in the world, and its presence can no longer be ignored; not only for the economic and military sector, but also to car manufacturers. Supercar manufacturers are the ones taking the most advantage of China’s rising as they are making a lot of efforts to woo more customers such as releasing a China-only special, like Audi’s new R8 China Edition.
Now, how exclusive is this new R8 China Edition? Before we indulge into the details, under the skins is still the same R8 V10 FSI with no tweaks whatsoever done on the engine. So it still has 525-horsepower and still does a 3.9-second 0-100 run. But like most of these “Special Editions”, the changes done are mostly cosmetic.
It will be available in a color that they call Malibu Blue paired up with the sideblades finished in Suzuka gray, or having it in the inverse order. The interior is not bathed with black leather, but instead has black shark skin and Alcantara covering the seats along with contrasting stitching, not to forget dashes of carbon fiber trims.
On the gear shift knob is where the production number of 1 – 99 is engraved, and this is the part where Audi had smartly thought it through. Although it is written that there are 99 of them, only 80 of such will be built as Audi had considered the cultural habits of the Chinese customers and removed any of those with the number 4.
But the shade that this China Edition sports is nothing short of being beautiful, and the 19-inch glossy wheels are just a plus. Prices had yet to be released, but it would not probably take long before all of the 80 units end up in the hands of the Chinese tycoons.