We recently said goodbye to the R8, but for a few years Audi toyed with the idea of making another dedicated performance machine. Between 2010 and 2013, the Four Rings worked on a sports car concept under the internal designation “Skorpion”. We discovered the intriguing supercar at the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, Germany.
The idea behind the Skorpion was to effectively design a road-going version of the Le Mans-winning R18 endurance racing car. Yes, the one with a diesel engine. The aerodynamic work was supposed to take inspiration from the Audi DTM cars of the era. Audi claims that this aborted supercar would have been positioned above the second-generation R8, which was being developed around the same time. The R8 Mk2 entered production in 2015.
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Several powertrains were considered for the Skorpion, both gasoline and diesel engines ranging in power from 400 to 550 horsepower. Audi engineers explored rear- and all-wheel drive versions, as well as a hybrid setup combining a combustion engine with an electric motor. However, this never saw the light of day as the German brand put an end to this exciting project.
Audi must have seriously considered launching the Skorpion at some point, considering Car and driver reported in April 2013 that the car was put into production. Rumor has it that the plan was to produce just 333 units, which would make it just as exclusive as the R8 GT and A1 Quattro. It was supposed to use the R18 platform with a carbon fiber monocoque reinforced with an aluminum honeycomb.
At the time, it was believed that the Skorpion would use the race car’s 3.7-liter V6 diesel engine with an electric motor, producing a combined output of more than 700 horsepower. The ICE would have driven the rear wheels while the electric motor would have powered the front axle, allowing for an electrified Quattro setup.
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As crazy as the idea of a diesel supercar or hypercar sounds, Audi has done it before, but only in concept form. The 2008 R8 V12 TDI featured a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 oil-burner rated at 493 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. It even came with a six-speed manual gearbox, routing the diesel muscle to a Quattro all-wheel-drive system. This setup allowed for a sprint to 62 mph in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of over 186 mph.
Just like the Skorpion, the R8 V12 TDI was also left in the cutting room. However, its engine continued to power the crazy Q7. Audi has hinted at a new flagship performance car, which will likely take the form of an electric R8. Let’s hope it’s more successful this time since the old R8 E-Tron was a commercial failure, with less than 100 units sold.
