Most powerful Audi R8 ever to turn up in Los Angeles

R8 Competition gets 30 more horsepower and plenty of carbon fiber

    Audi's R8 halo car has been with us since 2006. Since then, Audi has breathlessly reminded us that it has had 45 consecutive months of record sales, nearly the last four years in a row, which really should mean that everyone's driving around in R8s. Correlation and causation, right? (Not at all.) Alas, the R8 isn't long for this world, 8 years old, and both Audi and the world alike must move on to the next great bauble.

    So, at the Los Angeles Auto Show a few weeks away, the R8 supercar will bow out in a dynamic cloud of tiresmoke with the R8 Competition: the most powerful R8 yet, and guaranteed to be one of the most rare.

    Early next year, just 60 R8 Competition coupes will come to us. Is it worth it? Well, that 5.2-liter V10 now pumps out 570 scintillating horsepower, all but guaranteeing that this isn't just some dynamic styling package. The V10 R8 Plus we drove last year had 30 less horsepower. Paired with a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, Audi figures the R8 Competition can hit 60 in 3.2 seconds, on the way to 199 mph.

    So, yeah. It's probably worth it.

    Short of the body itself, everything on the Competition's body that could conceivably be carbon fiber has been carbon fibered: the mirrors, the side blades, the engine cover, the spoilers, the rear diffuser, the driver's shoes. The rear tires are 305 cross-sectioned, there are ceramic brakes all around, and the door sills light up with "R8 Competition." Neat! The R8 Competition will be built as part of Audi's exclusive program, so mink fur upholstery and reclaimed wood from the HMS Invincible are fair game. Mostly.

    The R8 has proven to be a formidable race car, and a halo car success -- certainly some of those consecutive sales were spurred on the allure of an R8 in the showroom. When the current R8 goes, we'll miss the "near-perfect supercar."