Audi has released a teaser photo depicting the new laser headlights of the all-new R8 supercar, scheduled to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show early next month.

You’re probably not surprised by the shape of the headlights, as you’ve seen them before in the scoop we brought to you last week. Audi says the new optional laser high-beam offers high light intensity and excellent range. The car will be equipped as standard with LED headlights (37 LEDs per headlight), with a laser high beam lighting module offered as an option.

According to the automaker, laser high‑beams attain nearly twice the lighting range of LED high‑beam headlights, with each headlight containing one laser module that operates with four high‑intensity laser diodes. The module bundles the four intense blue‑light laser beams, with a phosphor converter transforming the blue light into pure white light.

From this teaser photo it is obvious the R8 will still be recognizable as an R8, as the car appears to have a similar profile with sharpened details throughout the body. The headlights are part of these details, but we can also see some protruding carbon fiber winglets beneath the lights.

We take to the Ascari track in the passenger seat of the hotly-anticipated new Audi R8.

R8 V10 Plus hits 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds

British magazine Autocar had the chance to test drive the second-gen Audi R8 and find out all the juicy technical details.

The new R8 is 4444mm long (unchanged), 1944mm wide (+39mm) and 1241mm tall (-9mm) and in Plus guise it weighs 1,454 kg (3,205 lbs) which makes it 66 kg (145 lbs) lighter than its predecessor. The dimensions of the front & rear tracks and wheelbase have remained the same but the new model is 40 percent stiffer. It sits on standard 19-inch wheels wrapped around in 235/35 ZR19 front & 295/30 ZR19 rear tires and can be optionally fitted with 20-inch alloys shod in 245/30 ZR20 front and 305/30 ZR20 rear rubbers.

The V10 5.2-liter naturally aspirated engine will develop 532 bhp (397 kW) at 8,000 rpm and 398 lb-ft (539 Nm) of torque at 6,500 rpm in the standard R8 while in the range-topping Plus guise it will generate 601 bhp (448 kW) at 8,150 rpm and 413 lb-ft (559 Nm) at 6,500 rpm. The standard model is now 15 bhp & 7 lb-ft more powerful than the outgoing model while the Plus variant has gained 59 bhp & 15 lb-ft. The added power has been obtained by installing a new exhaust system as well as by making other hardware tweaks which are not known at this point.

All that power is channeled to the wheels through a heavily revised seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox promising to bring quicker and smoother gear changes as well as a coasting function and better stop/start operation. It provides both manual & automatic operation and has no less than seven different modes to choose from. Gone is the viscous coupling syncro AWD system of the outgoing generation as the new R8 adopts an electro-hydraulically operated multi-plate clutch setup.

In terms of performance, the Audi R8 V10 Plus will run to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds before topping out at 205 mph (330 km/h). This means it is 0.3s quicker in the sprint and has an 8 mph (13 km/h) higher top speed than the model it replaces.

The Audi R8 will premiere next month at the Geneva Motor Show where it will be showcased alongside a fully electric e-tron version that will have a range of more than 249 miles (400 km), according to the company's head of R&D Ulrich Hackenberg.

The V10 5.2-liter naturally aspirated engine will develop 532 bhp (397 kW) at 8,000 rpm and 398 lb-ft (539 Nm) of torque at 6,500 rpm in the standard R8 while in the range-topping Plus guise it will generate 601 bhp (448 kW) at 8,150 rpm and 413 lb-ft (559 Nm) at 6,500 rpm.

In early March 2015, there has come: At the Geneva Motor Show to present the four rings, the second generation of the Audi R8. First, we show you the first pictures of the super sports car on the race track in southern Spain Ascari. At the wheel racer Frank Stippler. The sound of the new Audi R8 V10 is distinctive due to its naturally aspirated engine.

Ride on board the 2015 Audi R8 with racing driver Frank Stippler as he laps the Ascari circuit.

Based on the same platform as the Lamborghini Huracan, the new Audi R8 will launch in two versions, with a 540hp V10 and a top-of-the-line 610hp V10 Plus.

The latter has a heavily reworked 5.2-litre unit which allows the V10 Plus to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds, an improvement of 0.3 seconds compared to its predecessor. Top speed is 330 km/h (205 mph).

Unfortunately for purists, there’s no manual transmission option, with the sole transmission offered being the 7-speed S-Tronic double-clutch gearbox.

Later on, the R8 may also get a smaller V8 engine, possibly the biturbo 4.0-liter used by other models of the VW Group. However, there’s nothing official about a V8 yet.

While Audi is launching its all-new Lambo Huracan chassis-based R8 exclusively with the V10 engine and all-wheel drive, the range will be expanded as time progresses. The new platform apparently allows for much more flexibility than before, so we could even see a V6-engined car with drive going exclusively to the rear.

At the other end of the scales, we could see a hardcore GT3 variant. Heck, even a diesel is said to be considered, according to R8 technical lead Roland Schala, quoted by TopGear.

He said "we're not quite sure what the next step is," but that "the V6 is a perfect engine for this kind of car. We have a lot of potential with the V6, from 400bhp upwards, so it's possible."

He added that the idea of a diesel in the new R8 was discussed, “but is it the right step to bring it in?" Schala finished off by saying "it would certainly make us unique, but you need more technology around the engine to keep it clean.”

Another way they could take it would be down the electrification route.

Finally, it seems the new R8 has not been confirmed with a manual gearbox, which is a shame – at launch it will surely have a dual clutch, but will they also offer the manual at the start, or at all?

After yesterday’s premature leak of an official photo, Audi finally lifted the wraps off the new R8.

The V10 mid-engine supercar is up to 50kg lighter than its predecessor, with the top-of-the-range V10 Plus scoring 1454kg, thanks to the new Audi Space Frame chassis which combines aluminium and carbon fibre reinforced plastics in its construction, something we’ve seen already in its Italian cousin.

An updated 5.2-litre V10 engine, available with two outputs, will be the only choice during the launch. The first version makes 540hp and 540 Nm (398.3 lb-ft) of torque while the V10 Plus scores a very healthy 610hp and 560 Nm (413.0 lb-ft) of torque, allowing it to accelerate from zero to 62mph (0-100km/h) in 3.2 seconds, 0-124mph (0-200km/h) in 9.9 seconds and it will keep going until it reaches 205mph-330km/h. The 540hp version sprints to 62mph from standstill in 3.5 seconds and it can reach a top speed of 201mph (323km/h).

According to Audi the updated V10 now features an additional indirect injection to compliment the direct injection, making the engine to use less fuel and produce more power. A Cylinder-On-Demand system is also present, shutting one of the two cylinder banks in light throttle loads, further improving the fuel efficiency. The R8 V10 averages 11.8 lt/100km (19.9 US mpg) with CO2 emissions of 275 gr/km. For the R8 V10 plus those values are 12.4 lt/100km (19.0 US mpg) and 289 gr/km. Compared to the previous model, the new R8 is using less fuel up to 10 percent, also due to the new start-stop system.

Gone is the option of the manual gearbox with the 7-speed S-Tronic transmission to be the only one to choose from. This is combined with a newly developed Quattro system which can distribute the torque according to the respective driving conditions, sending up to 100% of the torque in a single axle in some extreme cases.

The driver has now the choice of four driving modes (comfort, auto, dynamic and individual) through Audi’s drive select dynamic handling system. The standard system takes into account the engine characteristics, steering, S tronic transmission and quattro drive system as well as optional extras such as Audi magnetic ride, the exhaust flaps and dynamic steering.

Audi’s virtual cockpit, first seen on the new TT is here, allowed the designers to create a more minimalistic interior, with all the information needed in front of the driver. Details like the three-dimensional designed air vents are set to remind “the air inlets of a race car”.

Has a 450 km range

Besides introducing the V10-powered R8, Audi has also released full technical specifications about its e-tron fully electric sibling.

Official images are not available at this point but the design shouldn't be that much different while underneath the skin lays an entirely different beast. It has been labeled as the R8 e-tron 2.0 to denote it's an evolution of the previous variant which never made it as a production model. While the old one had a 215 km (133 mile) range, the latest iteration of the R8 e-tron will do 450 km (279 miles) thanks primarily to an increased battery capacity from 49 kWh to 92 kWh without affecting packaging.

Speaking of the battery, it has a T-shaped layout and has been installed into the center tunnel behind the occupant cell. This is a new generation of lithium-ion high-voltage batteries produced by Audi and developed specifically for a fully electric vehicle. A complete recharge will take "significantly less than two hours" thanks to the on-board Combined Charging System (CCS) which allows charging with direct and alternating current.

Combined power of the two electric motors has also substantially increased from 381 HP (280 kW) and 820 Nm (605 lb-ft) to 462 HP (340 kW) and 920 Nm (679 lb-ft). It's enough electric oomph to provide the Audi R8 e-tron 2.0 with a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) run in 3.9 seconds before hitting an electronically-capped top speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) or 155 mph (250 km/h).

Audi says the R8 e-tron 2.0 will be available for order later this year at a yet undisclosed price tag but it will obviously be substantially more expensive than the R8 V10 Plus which kicks off at €187,400.