What happens when you take a supercar with a gasoline engine and attempt to swap it out for a diesel? This is what Darkside Developments, a shop in England, is attempting to do with an Audi R8.
The story by Brad Anderson appeared on Carscoops this week, accompanied by a video in which builder states, "This is a cry for help." The help he was seeking was not money to finish the build, but rather help in making some important decisions.
Creating a video like that is intriguing because the shop is utilizing a technique called "crowdsourcing." Crowdsourcing is a method for obtaining information by enlisting the services of a large number of people in order to get input regarding a project.
The primary decision Darkside had been grappling with was whether to drop in a diesel V6 with a massive turbocharger, or to drop in a V8 diesel with two turbos hanging out from the back.
The compounding issue on the V8 selection would be finding a suitable manual transmission that would mate well with an engine that powerful.
The current engine they intend to swap out.
Anderson says that he doesn't believe Audi fans would be all that thrilled by this kind of build. Nevertheless, we think diesel enthusiasts may be paying attention.
"While it would certainly be cool to see a diesel-powered Audi R8 on the road," Anderson writes, "such a vehicle wouldn't be entirely without precedent. In fact, Audi famously unveiled the R8 Le Mans Concept back in 2008 with a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine producing 4923 hp at 4,000 rpm and a monstrous 738 lb-ft (1000 Nm) of torque between 1,750 and 3,000 rpm."
Audi purportedly gave serious consideration to putting it into production, but finally took a pass.
UK-based Darkside Developments specializes in performance diesel tuning. They do fabrication, tuning, mods, off road, project cars, and racing. They ship all over the world and have a loyal following for their workmanship and high standards. According to Carscoops, their objective, with regard to this diesel swap, was to use the diesel R8 as a top speed car rather than one focused on track times, "something that the R8 is probably more suited for."
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German luxury car brand and subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, Audi is mulling to discontinue the Audi R8 and TT models owing to the automaker's drive towards electrification. In an interview with Top Gear, Audi's global chief of sales Hildegard Wortmann has indicated that electric will be the future.
ReplyDeleteIn short, if you have a wallet full of money and the desire for a bit of whimsy on the road, then the Audi R8 is the high-quality sports car to buy. For the few features it lacks in safety and cargo space, it more than makes up for in style, power and speed.
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