Razor sharp R8 unleashed
2009-05-06 08:59
Audi’s R8, a favourite foil for German aftermarket tuning companies to produce some truly horrific bodykits. This PPI one though, is simple and oddly stylish. Goes well too.
Not keen on waiting for Audi’s R8 V10? German tuner PPI will supercharge your R8 V8 and carbonise the bodywork, leaving you with an R8 RS, of sorts.
Although one of Germany’s newer aftermarket high performance engineering concerns, PPI has, under the tutelage of Benjamin Abraham, produced a very neat, very quick rendition of the R8 4.2 V8.
From the outset Abraham and his Waiblingen-based team envisaged a lightweight, forced induction version of the R8.
When you are trying to improve on a supercar with the R8's already redoubtable levels of technology, you had better have some very clever, considered design ideas in mind. Fortunately the PPI team went for the tried and tested design philosophy of stripping weight and increasing power.
The result is PPI's Razor GTR (there we go again with those subtle German model names), which is an incredible 250kg lighter than the factory R8 and substantially more powerful too.
Kitted for speed
PPI’s comprehensive bodykit serves a dual purpose - to managing high-speed airflow as dynamically as possible, whilst simultaneously reducing weight.
With the bodykit comprising F1's favourite material (aerospace specification carbon-fibre), the Razor GTR features new fore and aft bumpers (both sporting diffusers to reduce high-speed axle lift) and enlarged air inlets to provide optimal cooling for the engine.
The standard engine cover is binned in favour of a sinister looking polycarbonate Makrolon cover, featuring carbon-fibre ram-charged air inlets. Rounding off the bodykit is a new rear wing, complete with Gurney-flap, to ensure copious levels of downforce at autobahn speeds.
Clever dampers
Underneath the Razor’s aerodynamically efficient bodywork are a host of suspension and brake refinements.
German suspension specialist KW provides a customised coil-over kit, which improves handling and, oddly enough, utility too. A front axle hydraulic lift kit enables 45 mm of extra clearance when negotiating spoiler ruining speed bumps.
Decelerative enhancements are in the form of new six-piston calliper actuated discs up front, curious, considering the standard R8’s eight-piston units.
Providing the urge to back up PPI’s 0-100km/h claim of 3.7 seconds is a supercharged version of the venerable Audi 4.2l V8.
PPI is coy about the exact origin of the supercharger used, yet it does a good job in conjunction with the ram-air induction system and custom made exhaust, boosting power from 309kW to 427kW.
Rotational force is up from 430Nm to 600Nm, and top speed is claimed at 332km/h.
Interior embellishments include PPI badging, a new steering wheel and trim kneepads for extreme cornering on those 10/10ths track days.
