Photo: Potter & Rich
This is a heavily modified Audi R8 V10 Plus, but you just know something's off with the tuning job when they feel the need to include a lightly dressed female in the photo shoot. On this occasion, though, that rule doesn't apply.
This thing resembling an Audi R8 V10 Plus is the work of German tuning outfit Potter & Rich. They took an unsuspecting Audi R8 V10 Plus and put it through a fire and hell and when it came out the other side, it was called RECON MC8.
Notice the military theme of the name which is the only thing slightly justifying our little female guest's dress code.
As far as the technical aspects go, there is a lot to talk about. The guys at Potter & Rich were really unhappy with the power output of the stock Audi R8 V10 Plus, so they did everything possible to that poor engine. In the end, after some chip tuning, supercharging and swapping a lot of its components, the 5.2-liter V10 engine jumped from 550 hp and 540 Nm (398 lb-ft) all the way to a stratospheric 950 hp and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft).
And that's not all. You know how automakers tend to make the more powerful models all-wheel drive cars? Yeah, Potter & Rich did the exact opposite, stripping the Audi R8 V10 Plus of its quattro four-wheel drive system and making the RECON MC8 a rear-wheel drive car.
Is that just a tad insane or what? Now, the standard seven-speed S-tronic dual clutch transmission is sending all that power to the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential from Drexler Sports.
Brakes and suspension could not have remained stock either - in fact, very little did. The RECON MC8 gets a Brembo motorsport brakes setup, a special KW suspension with hydraulic air system and an adjustable Capristo exhaust system.
It's got the lightweight carbon-fiber body from an R8 LMS Ultra, which is OK. The body came together with that giant wing which is even more useful now, with the car relying solely on the rear axle for traction.
The car comes with two different sets of wheels for track and every-day use: those destined for the circuit measure 18 inches in diameter for both axles and are slightly wider at the rear; the street setup uses 20 inch rims at the front and 21 at the rear, also with a larger rubber patch for the rear axle.
The inside can best be described as "dark", with Alcantara covering most of the surfaces interrupted only by the red contrasting seams. They also rightfully extended the speedometer range to cover as much as 430 km/h (270 mph), even though there are no explicit performance figures.
What's also missing is a price-tag for this exhaustive conversion, but I'm pretty sure it's a case of "if you could afford it, you'd know."
Notice the military theme of the name which is the only thing slightly justifying our little female guest's dress code.
As far as the technical aspects go, there is a lot to talk about. The guys at Potter & Rich were really unhappy with the power output of the stock Audi R8 V10 Plus, so they did everything possible to that poor engine. In the end, after some chip tuning, supercharging and swapping a lot of its components, the 5.2-liter V10 engine jumped from 550 hp and 540 Nm (398 lb-ft) all the way to a stratospheric 950 hp and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft).
And that's not all. You know how automakers tend to make the more powerful models all-wheel drive cars? Yeah, Potter & Rich did the exact opposite, stripping the Audi R8 V10 Plus of its quattro four-wheel drive system and making the RECON MC8 a rear-wheel drive car.
Is that just a tad insane or what? Now, the standard seven-speed S-tronic dual clutch transmission is sending all that power to the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential from Drexler Sports.
Brakes and suspension could not have remained stock either - in fact, very little did. The RECON MC8 gets a Brembo motorsport brakes setup, a special KW suspension with hydraulic air system and an adjustable Capristo exhaust system.
The good news end here, I'm afraid
Well, sort of. What P & R did to the outside of the RECON MC8 is debatable, but we're not convinced by the aesthetic side of things. It may be good for the car's performances, but it's less so for our eyes.It's got the lightweight carbon-fiber body from an R8 LMS Ultra, which is OK. The body came together with that giant wing which is even more useful now, with the car relying solely on the rear axle for traction.
The car comes with two different sets of wheels for track and every-day use: those destined for the circuit measure 18 inches in diameter for both axles and are slightly wider at the rear; the street setup uses 20 inch rims at the front and 21 at the rear, also with a larger rubber patch for the rear axle.
The inside can best be described as "dark", with Alcantara covering most of the surfaces interrupted only by the red contrasting seams. They also rightfully extended the speedometer range to cover as much as 430 km/h (270 mph), even though there are no explicit performance figures.
What's also missing is a price-tag for this exhaustive conversion, but I'm pretty sure it's a case of "if you could afford it, you'd know."
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