Audi R8 Successor Going All-Electric When It Arrives

Audi's confirmation today that the R8 successor will be all-electric shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the company's comments for the last few years. Audi never outright opposed the idea. However, the company has been quite vague about its halo car plans. That's no longer the case – for the most part, with Audi Sport's head of product marketing confirming with Roadshow that the R brand is going fully electric.

Linda Kurz told the publication that the company would "transform the R segment," though don't expect something snazzy to arrive next year. Kurz added that this is a goal for the next decade, though that doesn't mean Audi will serve up an R8 with electric motors and a battery, though that’s possible. Previous comments from the company have suggested that the successor could be a completely different type of car, with Audi possibly leaving the R8 nameplate in the history books moving forward.

While Audi's confirmation is nice, the company didn't elaborate on what the successor could be or when we could see it. Audi has aired concerns about whether battery technology is mature enough to support a proper sports car, but there should be vast improvements arriving in the coming years as EV costs continue to decline and efficiency increases.

An all-electric halo car wouldn't be the brand's first attempt, as the R8 e-tron from 2015 and 2016 did exist. But it was a sales disaster. It could have been a bit too early for such a car, though it was no slouch, with a 3.9-second zero-to-60 time. Whatever the successor will be, it will be electric as Audi plans to introduce more Evs than combustion-powered cars in the coming years, including the high-performance R segment and the rest of the Audi lineup. The company wants to offer 20 EVs in its global lineup by 2025.